LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


BV  3400  .M25 

McCartee,  Divie  Bethune, 

1820-1900. 
A  missionary  pioneer  in  the 

Far  East J 


A  MISSIONARY  PIONEER  IN  THE 
FAR  EAST 


Dr.  Divie  B.  McCartee  and  Mrs.  McCartee  in  Japan 
in  the  nineties 


A  Missionary  Pioneer 
in  the  Far  East 


A  MEMORIAL 

OF       ,X 

DIVIE  BETHUNE  McCARTEE 

For  More   Than  Fifty   Years  a  Missionary    of 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


EDITED  BY 

ROBERT  E.  SPEER 

Secretary,  Board. of  Foreign  Missions, 
Presbyterian  Church 


Nsw  York  Chicago 

Fleming  H.  Re  veil  Company 

London      and      Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago :  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    75    Princes    Street 


Contents 

I.  The^  Man  and  His  Work  :  From  an  Occi- 

DENTAI,  ViE:WPOINT 9 

Robert  E.  Speer. 

II.  The^  Man  As  He  Regarded  Himself 27 

Dr.  McCartee's  Own  Story. 

1.  Prefatory 27 

2.  School  and  College 30 

3.  Call  to  China 39 

4.  The  Ship  "  Huntress  " 44 

5.  Arrival  at  Hong  Kong 53 

6.  Visit  to  Macao 57 

7.  Return  to  Hong  Kong 65 

8.  Hong  Kong  to  Chusan  and  Ningpo 69 

9.  Ningpo 75 

10.  First  Trip  into  the  Country 80 

11.  Early  History  of  the  Ningpo  Mission. ...  88 

12.  In  the  Taoist  Temple 93 

13.  Visit  of  Commodore  Biddle;  Portuo-uese 

Pirates  103 

14.  Consular  Experiences  at  Ningpo Ill 

15.  Nanking  and  the  T'aiping  Rebels 117 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

16.  From  Nanking  to  Hankow 125 

17.  Attempt  to  Reach  Chefoo 132 

18.  Second  Attempt ;  Chefoo 135 

19.  Japan  144 

20.  First  Attempt  to  Reach  Japan 147 

21.  My  First  Visit  to  Japan 149 

22.  Prolonged  Residence  in  Japan 158 

23.  Mission  Day  and  Boarding  Schools 168 

24.  Medical     Practice     and     Miscellaneous 

Notes  181 

(1)  Medical  Practice 181 

(2)  Deaf  Mutes 192 

(3)  Churches  and  Chapels 194 

(4)  Missionaries  as  Consuls,  etc 195 

(5)  Botany 197 

(6)  Collections   199 

III.  Th^  Man  As  an   Oriental  Christian 

Saw  Him 203 

Woh-Cong-eng,  Pastor  of  the  Church  of 
the  Bao-ko-tah,  Ningpo,  China. 

IV.  The  Man  As  a  Fellow-Worker  Knew 

Him  217 

David  Murray,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Foreign 
Adviser  to  the  Japanese  Minister  of 
Education, 


I 


THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK:  FROM  AN 
OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT 

Robert  E.  Speer. 


THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK:  FROM  AN 
OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT 

DIVIE  BETHUNE  McCARTEE  was  one  of 
the  distinctive  pioneers  in  the  missionary 
enterprise  of  the  American  Churches  in  the 
Far  East.  His  career  covered  the  opening  of  China 
and  Japan  to  missionary  effort,  and  it  embraced  the 
wide  range  of  activity  and  service  so  characteristic 
of  the  missionary  founders.  He  was  physician,  scien- 
tist, educator,  diplomatist,  scholar,  author,  evangelist. 
His  note  books  and  diaries  are  full  of  his  careful 
studies  in  medicine,  archaeology,  history  and  botany. 
His  personality  was  delightfully  fresh  and  original 
and  the  reminiscences  of  his  life  which  he  left  behind 
and  which  are  embodied  in  this  memorial  are  of  the 
highest  value,  not  only  as  a  revelation  of  his  own 
character  and  spirit  but  also  as  a  record  of  the  begin- 
nings of  Christian  Missions  and  civilization  in  China 
and  Japan. 

Divie  Bethune  McCartee  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
on  the  13th  of  January,  1820,  as  the  oldest  of  ten 
children.  His  parents  were  both  natives  of  New 
York  City,  where  both  of  his  grandfathers  were  pros- 
perous merchants,  esteemed  as  men  of  wealth,  piety 
and  philanthropy.  His  father,  Robert  McCartee,  was 
a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  born  in  1790,  graduated 


10  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

at  Columbia  College  as  A.B.  in  1808,  who  received 
from  that  institution  the  degree  of  A.M.  in  1811  and 
S.T.D.  in  1831.  For  a  time  he  practiced  law,  and 
then  in  1816  was  graduated  at  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  in  New  York 
City.  He  was  pastor  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
other  places,  and  died  in  1865.  From  1822  to  1836, 
when,  for  his  health,  he  moved  to  Port  Carbon,  Pa., 
Dr.  Robert  McCartee  had  charge  of  the  Irish  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  New  York  City.  In  that  church 
he  began  with  a  small  membership  of  thirty  and 
brought  it  up  to  a  thousand,  besides  building  a  new 
edifice.  He  is  said  to  have  been  not  only  pastor,  but 
legal  adviser  and  virtual  magistrate  of  his  parish; 
and  in  his  library,  containing  many  books  of  law  as 
well  as  theology,  the  son  from  childhood  was  a  pre- 
cocious and  omnivorous  reader.  Dr.  Robert  McCar- 
tee's  range  of  interests  also  appears  in  the  fact  that 
while  at  Port  Carbon  he  organized  there  a  Lyceum 
of  Natural  History  that  continued  in  existence  for 
some  years. 

The  family  name  was  originally  MacEachen.  The 
paternal  great-grandfather  of  this  Robert  McCartee 
was  Angus  MacEachen,  who  came  with  his  clan  from 
the  Island  of  I  slay,  on  the  coast  of  Argyleshire  in 
Scotland.  This  ancestor  took  a  somewhat  prominent 
part  on  the  losing  side  in  the  battle  of  Culloden, 
which  was  fought  on  the  16th  of  April^  1746;  and  in 
1757  this  led  to  his  leaving  Great  Britain  for  Amer- 
ica. Belonging  to  the  same  racial  stock  and  fighting 
on  the  same  side  of  that  famous  battle  at  Drummossie 
Moor,  the  great-grandfather  of  David  Livingstone 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     11 

was  killed — David  Livingstone,  who  in  the  same  year 
of  1840  with  Divie  McCartee  took  his  medical  de- 
gree to  become  a  missionary  pioneer,  and  who,  more- 
over, had  first  desired  to  go  to  China.  The  two  men 
had  much  in  common.  Had  Livingstone  gone  to 
China  and  McCartee  to  Africa  it  may  be  fairly  sup- 
posed that  the  career  of  each  would  strongly  have 
resembled  the  actual  career  of  the  other. 

Angus  MacEachan  first  made  his  residence  with 
his  family  at  a  place  in  New  Jersey  called  Kakiet, 
afterward  known  as  "  English  Neighborhood,"  now 
Englewood.  But  having  been  annoyed  by  the  Indians 
he  removed  to  New  York  City,  where,  being  a  po- 
litical refugee,  he  saw  fit  to  change  his  name  to  Mc- 
Cartee. His  son  was  Finlay  MacEachan ;  and  his  son, 
Peter  McCartee,  grandfather  of  Divie  Bethune  Mc- 
Cartee, became  one  of  the  leather  dealers  of  the  local- 
ity called  "  the  Swamp,"  and  lived  at  12  Jacob  Street. 
He  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Associate  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Murray  Street,  under  the 
pastorate  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  John  M.  Mason, 
who  also  for  awhile  was  Provost  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege. The  wife  of  this  Peter  McCartee  was  Mary 
McDowell,  daughter  of  Sir  James  McDowell,  sur- 
veyor of  the  colony  of  New  Jersey. 

The  maternal  grandfather  of  Divie  Bethune  Mc- 
Cartee was  Divie  Bethune,  a  native  of  Dingwall  in 
Rosshire,  Scotland,  of  Huguenot  line,  whose  name 
was  derived  from  a  small  town  in  Artois.  "  The 
Bethune  line  of  Picardy "  was  an  ancient  family 
whose  name,  according  to  Chesne,  "  often  occurs  in 
the  most  glorious  pages  of  French  history  since  the 


12  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

days  of  Hugh  Capet."  One  of  these,  Conan  de 
Bethune,  led  an  army  under  Godfrey  de  Boulougne  in 
the  first  crusade.  Another  was  the  celebrated  Duke 
of  Sully.  When  Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  con- 
formed to  the  Church  of  Rome,  his  minister,  Maxi- 
milien  de  Bethune,  Due  de  Sully,  maintained  his  own 
connection  with  the  Protestant  Church  in  which  he 
was  a  ruling  elder  when  he  died.  After  the  Revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  the  Protestant  branch  of 
the  Bethune  family  emigrated  to  England  and  Scot- 
land. (See  Histoire  de  la  Maison  de  Bethune,  1636; 
also  La  France  Protestante.) 

Divie  Bethune  gave  up  a  position  under  his  elder 
brother  in  Jamaica,  W.  I.,  on  account  of  his  dislike 
for  the  form  of  African  slavery  prevailing  there  at 
that  time.  He  settled  in  New  York,  taking  a  leading 
place  among  its  merchants  until  his  lamented  death  in 
1824.  His  wife  was  Joanna,  daughter  of  Dr.  John 
Graham,  a  British  army  surgeon ;  and  she  was  born  at 
Fort  Niagara.  By  a  former  wife  Dr.  Graham  had 
two  sons,  both  of  whom  were  army  officers  and  one 
of  whom  afterwards  became  Sir  Samuel  Graham, 
commander  of  Stirling  Castle.  Mrs.  Isabella  Graham, 
wife  and  widow  of  Dr.  John  Graham,  and  mother  of 
Mrs.  Divie  Bethune,  was  founder  of  the  first  orphan 
asylum  in  the  United  States ;  and  together  with  Divie 
and  Joanna  Bethune,  was  identified  with  the  begin- 
nings of  organized  charity  and  missionary  effort  in 
this  country.  Isabella  (nee  Marshall)  Graham  was 
born  in  Lanarkshire,  Scotland,  in  174,2,  came  to  New 
York  in  1789,  and  died  there  in  1814.  While  yet  in 
Scotland   she   originated   important  charities.     Her 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     13 

biography  and  letters,  published  first  in  1816,  went 
through  many  editions  in  Great  Britain,  a  London 
issue  appearing  as  late  as  1838.  In  America  have 
been  printed  more  than  50,000  copies,  besides  a  biog- 
raphy of  her  daughter  Joanna.  The  exalted  faith  and 
effective  philanthropy  of  Isabella  Graham  have  de- 
scended to  the  fourth  and  fifth  generations  of  her 
children,  and  through  them  have  been  reproduced  in 
the  lives  of  many  others. 

Three  children  were  bom  to  Divie  and  Joanna 
Bethune.  Their  daughter,  Jessie,  was  the  mother  of 
Divie  Bethune  McCartee.  She  was  the  author  of 
several  poems  that  were  published  and  admired  in 
the  anthologies  of  her  time.  Another  daughter,  Isa- 
bella Graham  Bethune,  was  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Duffield  (1795-1869)  of  Detroit,  an  early 
leader  of  the  new  school  Presbyterian  body.  Her 
only  daughter,  another  Isabella  Graham,  who  died  in 
1888,  was  wife  of  the  physician,  Dr.  Morse  Stewart, 
of  that  city,  and  was  a  leading  organizer  of  its  public 
charities,  a  woman  who  exemplified  in  character  and 
influence  the  best  traditions  of  her  lineage.  Her 
brothers  also  are  well  and  favorably  known.  The 
only  son  of  Divie  and  Joanna  Bethune  was  the  Rev. 
George  W.  Bethune,  D.D.  (1805-1862)  of  Philadel- 
phia and  Brooklyn.  He  was  a  clergyman  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  denomination,  possessing  eminent 
culture,  eloquence  and  nobility  of  Christian  character, 
greatly  admired  and  loved  as  preacher,  writer  and 
man.  His  literary  work  includes  a  famous  edition  of 
Walton*s  Angler,  showing  on  every  page  the  editor's 
delight  in  nature  and  his  rare  learning  in  piscatorial 


14  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

literature  and  art.    His  biography,  by  Dr.  Van  Nest, 
was  issued  in  New  York  in  1867.* 

With  such  an  ancestry  and  in  such  a  home  Divie 
McCartee  was  from  the  beginning  moved  by  mission- 
ary influence  even  when  he  was  unaware.  In  1895  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  John  Gillespie :  "  From  my  earliest  years 
I  have  been  familiar  with  and  interested  in  foreign 
missions  in  Greenland,  South  Africa,  India,  Burmah 
and  among  our  own  Indians.  The  names  of  Henry 
Martyn,  Vanderkemp,  Schwartz — and  of  the  Morav- 
ians in  Greenland,  were  household  words  with  us. 
One  of  my  father's  female  parishioners  died  in 
Ceylon,  after  fifty  years  of  service.  The  services  on 
the  setting  out  of  Barr,  who  died  of  cholera  before 
the  ship  sailed,  were  held  in  my  father's  church  in 
New  York  in  1832.  Sawyer,  who  died  in  Africa,  and 
his  wife,  went  from  my  father's  church  in  Goshen, 
Orange  County,  N.  Y.  Divie  Bethune  was  a  foreign 
director  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  1812. 
One  of  his  grandchildren  was  named  Henry  Martyn, 
another  William  Ward.  Peter  Dougherty,  one  of  the 
first  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  church  to  the 
Indians,  was  a  theological  student  under  my  father, 
and  went  from  his  church.  So  you  may  believe  me 
when  I  say  that  I  felt  more  as  if  I  were  one  of  our 
missionary  society  than  like  one  of  its  employes ;  and 
you  may  understand  why,  when  I  was  asked  to  go  to 
China  (as  Mr.  William  Rankin  has  related  in  his 
'Handbook  and  Incidents ')  it  cost  me  little  deliber- 

*  This  sketch  of  Dr.  McCartee's  ancestry  is  taken  from  an 
article  by  Henry  W.  Rankin  in  the  New  York  Observer, 
October  30,  1902. 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     15 

ation  to  decide.  I  knew  old  Dr.  John  Scudder  per- 
sonally, and  was  familiar  with  the  medical  missionary 
work  of  Dr.  Peter  Parker." 

The  autobiography  which  is  included  in  this  me- 
morial tells  the  story  of  all  but  the  closing  period  of 
Dr.  McCartee's  life.  It  will  suffice  here  simply  to 
say  that  he  was  appointed  a  missionary  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
sailed  for  China  in  October,  1843.  The  following 
year  he  entered  Ningpo  as  the  first  Protestant  mis- 
sionary. At  a  celebration  in  Tokyo  in  1894  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  arrival  on  the  mission  field 
Dr.  McCartee  spoke  of  the  missionary  conditions 
which  prevailed  in  China  when  he  arrived : 

"  When  our  mission  was  founded  in  Ningpo,  be- 
sides the  missionaries  in  Hong  Kong  and  Amoy,  there 
were  at  Shanghai,  the  veteran  missionary  and  scholar 
Dr.  W.  H.  Medhurst,  and  the  Medical  Missionary 
Lockhart,  who  still  survives  in  London  (both  of  them 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society)  ;  but  save  the 
score  or  more  of  converts  at  Hong  Kong,  mostly  from 
Singapore  and  Malacca,  and  an  old  evangelist  Ah- 
gong  who  had  been  baptized  by  Dr.  Milne,  there  were 
no  Protestant  Christians  in  China.  Ah-poo,  a  native 
of  Swatow,  who  had  received  some  religious  instruc- 
tion in  Siam  from  the  Baptist  missionaries  there,  and 
who  had  afterwards  been  faithfully  taught  by  Mrs. 
Way,  of  whose  infant  son  he  was  the  *  bearer,'  having 
given  satisfactory  evidence  of  conversion,  was  bap- 
tized by  Mr.  Way  in  the  winter  of  44-45.  The  first 
native  of  Ningpo,  converted  under  and  baptized  by 
our  mission  was  a  boy  in  our  boys*  boarding  school. 


16  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

who  was  baptized  in  1846.  Mr.  Lowrie  had  the  joy 
of  witnessing  the  baptism  of  Yuing  Ko-Kuing;  but 
he  was  spared  the  pain  and  disappointment  caused  us 
by  his  deflection  and  exclusion  from  the  Church  for 
more  than  forty  years ;  and  of  all  those  of  our  mission 
who  knew  Ko-Kuing  in  those  times  only  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Way  and  myself  survived  to  hear  the  joyful 
news  that  *  the  wandering  sheep '  had  been  brought 
back  to  the  fold,  and  that  Yun  Ko-Kuing  had,  after 
forty-three  years  of  separation  from  the  Christian 
Church,  given  satisfactory  evidence  of  sincere  re- 
pentance and  a  consistent  Christian  walk  and  conver- 
sation, and  had  been  received  again  into  the  commun- 
ion of  the  church  at  Ningpo." 

Two  able  men  who  knew  Dr.  McCartee  in  Ningpo 
have  borne  testimony  to  his  exceptional  character  and 
service.  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  who  before  he  moved 
to  Peking  for  his  great  career  there,  was  a  colleague 
of  Dr.  McCartee  at  Ningpo,  wrote  of  him : 

"  I  never  knew  any  man  who  combined  in  so  high  a 
degree  the  labors  of  an  author,  preacher,  and  medical 
practitioner.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  opening  of  the 
ports,  his  services  as  a  physician  were  called  for  on 
all  sides ;  not  by  missionaries  and  Chinese  alone,  but 
by  the  mercantile  community  and  foreign  shipping. 
In  his  versatility  and  untiring  energy,  he  seems  to 
have  been  made  for  a  pioneer;  while  his  long  tenure 
of  a  consular  post  contributed  much  to  his  influence 
among  the  Chinese." 

And  the  Rt.  Rev.  George  E.  Moule,  one  of  the 
Anglican  Bishops  in  China,  wrote :  "  Taken  all  in  all 
I  suppose  no  missionary  has  more  worthily  upheld  the 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     17 

character  of  his  profession.    I  have  always  regretted 
that  missionaries   should  ever  consent  to  accept  a 
political  appointment.    Much,  I  know,  may  be  said  on 
the  other  hand.    But  Dr.  McCartee's  singleness  of  aim 
in  all  relations  of  life  was  so  conspicuous,  that  his 
tenure  of  a  consular  office  can  have  done  nothing  but 
raise  the  credit  of  Christianity,  and  American  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  eyes  of  both  Mandarins  and  people.    In 
those  early  days    (1844-1858)   access  to  the  higher 
Mandarins  was   denied.     I   doubt,  indeed,  whether 
down  to  the  time  of  the  Taiping  troubles  (1861-2) 
the  business  brought  up  to  English  and  American 
consulates,  was  not  conducted  through  the  agency  of 
a  petty  officer  called  Yung-tung,  inferior  in  rank  to 
a  Che-hien,  or  district  magistrate,  who  himself  is  two 
grades  below  the  Tao-tai,  or  Intendent,  with  whom 
almost  exclusively  Ningpo  consuls  now  do  business. 
But  my  recollection  is  that  Dr.  McCartee,  through 
his  medical  skill,  Chinese  scholarship,  and  especially 
his  character  as  a  Christian  gentleman,  had  won  ac- 
cess to  more  than  one  or  two  of  the  wealthy  and 
cultivated  classes,  living  in  and  near  Ningpo.    If  he 
had  had  something  of  the  self-assertion  which  char- 
acterized some  others,  and  less  of  the  sense  of  humor 
which  gave  a  charm  to  his  conversation,  he  would 
have  left  a  deeper  mark  upon  the  literature  of  mis- 
sions and  in  the  various  fields  of  research.    But  my 
impression  of  him  is  that  no  one  of  my  missionary  ac- 
quaintances won,  and  retained  to  the  last,  a  warmer 
or  more  respectful  regard  from  his  brethren  of  all 
denominations  and  from  the  Chinese  of  all  ranks." 
From  1844  until  1873  Dr.  McCartee  was  a  mis- 


18  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

sionary  in  China.  In  1855  the  Board  had  requested 
him  to  visit  Japan  and  to  begin  missionary  work  there, 
and  he  sought  to  cross  over  from  Shanghai,  but  was 
unable  to  obtain  passage  on  any  vessel  and  had  to 
resume  his  work  in  Ningpo.  In  1873,  however,  as  he 
tells  in  his  autobiography,  the  opportunity  came  for 
him  to  settle  in  Japan  in  the  service  of  the  Japanese 
Department  of  Education  as  a  member  of  the  faculty 
of  the  school  which  became  the  Imperial  University 
of  Tokyo.  Here  he  remained  for  four  years,  receiv- 
ing at  the  end  the  following  testimonial  from  the 
Government: 

"  It  is  five  years  since  you  accepted  the  position  of 
Professor  in  the  Tokio  University.  During  that  long 
time  you  have  been  most  kind,  earnest  and  untiring 
in  giving  instruction.  Since  the  time  I  intrusted  to 
your  care  both  the  Tokio  Girls'  Normal  School  and 
the  Koishikawa  Botanical  Garden,  you  have  faithfully 
attended  and  taken  great  trouble  in  regard  to  them. 
It  is  due  to  the  valuable  services  which  you  have 
rendered  in  this  capacity  that  they  promise  to  attain 
a  successful  and  brilliant  future,  with  the  result  that 
I  am  satisfied  and  rejoiced. 

*'  Although  you  terminate  your  engagement  and 
leave  Japan  at  your  own  desire,  we  feel  that  it  is  to 
our  great  regret  and  loss.  I  shall  think  of  you  in 
your  separation  from  us  as  the  star  *  Shin  *  separated 
by  a  great  distance  in  the  heavens  from  the  star 
*  Sho.*  I  believe  the  results  of  your  labors  will  never 
disappear,  but  will  remain  as  a  lasting  monument  in 
this  country. 

"  Taking  the  opportunity  afforded  by  this  parting 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     19 

entertainment  I  beg  to  express  to  you  my  appreciation 
and  acknowledgment  by  these  few  hearty  words. 
"(Signed)  Tanaka-Fujimaro,  Senior 
Vice  Minister  of  Education,  Japan." 

Dr.  McCartee  returned  in  1877  to  Shanghai  in  the 
Consular  service  of  the  United  States,  but  he  soon 
resigned  from  this  service  to  go^  back  to  Japan  as  the 
Foreign  Adviser  to  the  Chinese  Legation  to  Japan. 
In  1888  he  resumed  his  connection  with  the  Presby- 
terian Board  and  he  ended  his  life  as  he  had  begun  it 
in  the  missionary  service  of  the  Church.  During 
these  years  he  was  busy  as  treasurer  of  the  Mission, 
in  teaching  and  writing,  and  especially  from  1890  to 
his  last  illness  in  1899,  as  Mr.  Henry  W.  Rankin 
writes :  "  There  was  one  labor  never  long  out  of  his 
hands.  It  accompanied  all  his  preparation  of  tracts. 
It  was  a  work  he  felt  ought  certainly  to  be  done  and 
the  sooner  done  the  better.  No  one  else  appeared  to 
be  doing  it  and  he  felt  it  strongly  laid  upon  himself 
that  the  time  and  call  had  come  for  him  to  undertake 
it.  He  did  not  talk  about  it.  Probably  few  if  any  of 
his  friends  were  aware  how  much  it  occupied  his 
mind.  In  a  general  way  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  engaged  upon  it ;  and  he  believed  it  had  the  ap- 
proval of  his  colleagues  in  the  Mission.  Indeed  in  his 
letters  to  the  Board  he  always  spoke  of  it  as  assigned 
to  him  by  the  Mission. 

"  For  years  before  he  made  a  formal  beginning  of 
this  work,  he  had  been  interested  in  the  matter  of  it, 
and  doubtless  he  had  accumulated  notes.  That  he 
might  be  spared  to  finish  it  was  his  strong  and  last 


20  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

desire.  He  regarded  it  as  peculiarly  his  allotted  task ; 
and  a  noble  and  pathetic  longing  appears  in  his  last 
letters,  increasing  with  his  growing  infirmities,  and  as 
the  time  grew  short,  that  he  might  complete  it  before 
his  sun  went  down,  namely,  his  "  Critical  and  Exeget- 
ical  Notes  on  the  New  Testament  with  Especial  Ref- 
erence to  the  Chinese  Characters  Used  in  the  Present 
Protestant  Version  in  Japanese."  Another  labor  was 
added  to  this  during  his  last  two  years,  that  of  writing 
the  "Reminiscences"  of  his  missionary  life;  but  it 
was  not  the  "  Reminiscences  "  that  lay  most  upon  his 
heart.  On  the  last  day  of  1898,  when  he  penned  his 
last  report,  the  completion  of  both  these  labors  seemed 
at  hand.  In  that  report  he  wrote :  *  I  hope  that  both 
these  tasks  will  have  been  completely  ended  in  the 
course  of  a  very  few  months.' 

"  Then  his  last  illness  came  on,  and  his  last  journey 
to  the  United  States,  That  journey  had  two  aims ;  to 
make  a  final  disposition  of  his  affairs;  and  also,  if 
possible,  to  gain  a  short  new  lease  of  life  in  which  to 
finish  his  work.  And  for  two  objects  he  eagerly 
wished  to  go  back  again  to  Japan  when  a  few  months 
of  improving  health  in  San  Francisco  had  encour- 
aged him ;  for  his  wife's  sake,  who  preferred  to  be  in 
Japan ;  and  once  more  for  this  work." 

In  1898  he  had  written  to  the  Board :  "  Since  living 
in  Japan  I  have  been  enjoying  better  health  until  two 
years  ago,  when  I  had  the  Grippe,  which  I  have  suf- 
fered from  three  winters  in  succession.  I  have 
thought  of  going  to  California  to  escape  a  winter ;  but 
I  would  prefer  after  the  winter  to  go  to  New  York 
or  Philadelphia,  where  I  still  have  a  few  surviving 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     21 

relatives,  or  acquaintances  (mostly  scientific).  In 
New  York  or  Philadelphia  I  could  work  at  the  Re- 
vision of  the  Japanese  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, as  requested  by  the  Mission:  on  which  I  have 
already  worked  for  some  time  and  have  accumulated 
a  considerable  amount  of  material.  I  am  not  a  clergy- 
man; but  I  have  been  familiar  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  Greek  from  my  childhood  and  know  enough 
of  Hebrew  to  have  translated  from  it  the  '  Lamenta- 
tions of  Jeremiah,'  Drs.  Culbertson  and  Bridgman 
having  died,  leaving  that  work  unfinished.  I  had  been 
elected  one  of  the  delegates  at  the  same  time  with  Dr. 
Culbertson  in  1849  and  did  not  (then)  feel  at  liberty 
to  leave  my  post  at  Ningpo;  but  (later)  was  requested 
by  the  Committee  of  our  Mission  at  Shanghai  to 
supply  the  deficiency,  which  I  did  (in  1863).  I  wrote 
and  published,  at  my  own  expense,  a  Diatessaron  of 
the  Four  Gospels  in  the  Mandarin  dialect,  with  tables, 
indexes,  etc.,  etc.,  which  went  through  two  or  three 
editions,  and  was  much  used  imtil  a  complete  Man- 
darin New  Testament  was  brought  out  at  Peking, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Bible  Society." 
And  on  Jan.  29,  1900,  he  wrote  from  San  Francisco, 
declining  an  invitation  to  become  an  honorary  member 
of  the  Ecumenical  Conference  on  Foreign  Missions : 
"  I  left  in  Japan  important  work  assigned  to  me  by 
the  Mission,  which  I  was  obliged  to  leave  unfinished, 
and  which  cannot  be  completed  by  any  one  except 
myself. — We  have  been  about  three  months  in  San 
Francisco,  and  I  am  anxious  to  return  and  resume 
my  work ;  for  the  time  is  short  that  remains  to  me.  I 
earnestly  hope  to  leave  this  country  for  Japan  in 


22  THE  MAN  AND  HIS  WORK 

April,  if  it  be  the  will  of  God,  and  I  can  make  the 
necessary  arrangements.  I  have  now  passed  my  80th 
birthday  and  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work. 
I  have  rapidly  improved  within  the  last  month  and  it 
encourages  me  to  hope  that  I  may  resume  and  finish 
the  work  that  was  given  me  to  do." 

Finally,  in  the  rough  draft  of  a  letter  that  was 
not  sent,  dated  Jan.  25,  1900:  "I  passed  my  80th 
birthday  on  the  13th  inst.  and  have  two  tasks  yet 
unfinished ;  viz. : '  Notes  on  some  of  the  Chinese  Char- 
acters used  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
Japanese  (written)  dialect,'  and  'Reminiscences  of 
my  Missionary  Life.'  I  have  worked  at  both  of  these 
for  a  couple  of  years  (at  the  first  for  many  more)  at 
the  request  of  the  Mission.  It  would  be  a  pity  that 
they  should  not  be  utilized." 

But  the  long  full  life  was  near  its  end.  He  died  at 
San  Francisco  in  his  eighty-first  year  on  July  17, 
1900,  after  fifty-six  years  of  faithful  service  of  the 
Far  East  and  his  work  on  the  Chinese  characters  used 
in  the  Japanese  version  of  the  Bible  was  left  undone. 
The  "  Reminiscences,"  however,  were  completed  down 
to  the  year  1877.  They  are  a  delightful  and  simple 
account  of  his  experiences  in  the  richly  various  rela- 
tions into  which  he  was  brought  and  they  reveal  his 
genial  spirit,  his  kindness,  his  loyalty,  his  good  sense, 
his  strong  individuality.  They  give  a  unique  picture 
of  the  early  years  in  the  Orient,  the  beginnings  of 
missionary  life  and  of  the  contact  of  East  and  West, 
of  the  Taiping  rebels  and  of  early  diplomatic  rela- 
tionships. With  this  brief  introduction  the  "  Remi- 
niscences "  tell  the  story  of  his  life  in  the  way  in 


FROM  AN  OCCIDENTAL  VIEWPOINT     23 

which  he  would  have  it  told.  His  own  spelling  of 
Chinese  proper  names  has  been  preserved.  Two  brief 
concluding  chapters  are  added,  one  by  the  Rev.  Woh 
Cong-eng,  a  Chinese  pastor  of  Ningpo,  the  other  by 
Dr.  David  Murray,  who  knew  him  well  in  Japan. 

One  word  should  be  added  with  regard  to  Mrs. 
McCartee.  As  Miss  Joanna  M.  Knight  she  had  gone 
out  from  New  England  in  1852  to  help  her  sister, 
Mrs.  Rankin,  in  the  School  at  Ningpo.  The  following 
spring  she  and  Dr.  McCartee  were  married  and  she 
survived  him  more  than  ten  years,  dying  in  Engle- 
wood.  New  Jersey,  December  31,  1920. 

It  was  a  delight  to  see  them  together  in  their  old 
age,  both  so  full  of  humor  and  wit  and  play,  of  rich 
and  ample  memories  and  of  the  brightest  joy  and 
hope.  With  both  of  them  life  was  a  long  and  noble 
service  and  at  evening  time  it  was  light. 


II 

THE  MAN  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 
Dr.  McCartee's  "  Reminiscences." 


THE  MAN  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

I 

PREFATORY 

A  BIOGRAPHICAL  sketch  of  Mrs.  Joanna 
Bethune,  widow  of  Divie  Bethune  and  mother 
of  the  Rev.  Dr  Bethune,  of  New  York,  who 
entered  into  her  rest  on  Saturday  afternoon,  July 
28th,  1860,  aged  92  years,  which  appeared  in  the 
New  York  Observer,  contains  the  following: 

"  In  1796  we  find  Mrs.  Isabella  Graham  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bethune  uniting  with  numerous  other 
Christians  of  New  York  in  forming  a  society  (the 
New  York  Missionary  Society),  to  send  mission- 
aries among  the  Indians  and  settlers  on  the  frontier. 
This  was,  it  is  believed,  the  first  Missionary  Society 
properly  organized  in  this  country,  and  the  sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Livingstone  at  its 
commencement  was  one  of  the  publications  which,  by 
the  Divine  blessing,  awakened  to  missionary  zeal  the 
young  disciples,  whose  burning  examples,  and  pray- 
ers under  the  shadow  of  the  haystack  at  Williams- 
town  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  find  Mrs.  Graham  recording  in  the  following 
year  (1798),  the  commencement  of  the  first  monthly 
missionary  prayer  meeting  held  in  America,  by  a  con- 
cert of  the  members  of  the  Dutch,  Presbyterian,  and 

27 


28  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Baptist  Churches,  which  met  in  each  other's  houses 
of  worship.  .  .  .  During  the  year  1807  Mr.  Bethune 
and  his  very  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Robert  Ralston,  of 
Philadelphia,  sympathizing  with  larger  missionary 
views  than  were  entertained  generally  in  this  country 
at  that  time,  had  made  themselves  directors  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society, — the  only  two  such  in 
the  United  States.  In  1807,  that  society  sent  to  this 
country  (to  avoid  the  French  cruisers)  the  Rev. 
(then  Mr.)  Robert  Morrison,  the  translator  of  the 
Bible,  on  his  way  to  China,  and  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Gordon  and  Lee,  on  their  way  to  India." 

In  the  story  of  the  lives  of  Carey,  Marshman,  and 
Ward,  the  Serampore  missionaries,  by  John  Clark 
Marshman,  it  is  related  that  the  Rev.  Williarti  Ward, 
having  received  "  a  pressing  invitation  from  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Baptist  community  in  America, 
of  which  he  availed  himself,  was  welcomed  with  en- 
thusiasm in  every  circle;  and  men  of  all  denomina- 
tions vied  with  each  other  in  their  expressions  of 
esteem  for  the  man  who,  in  conjunction  with  his  two 
colleagues,  had  opened  up  the  path  of  modern  mis- 
sions in  the  East.  But  it  is  due  to  the  memory  of  the 
late  Divie  Bethune,  of  New  York,  to  state  that  no- 
where did  Mr.  Ward  feel  himself  so  completely  at 
home,  as  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  and  from  no 
individual  did  he  receive  more  cordial  support."  (p. 
208.)  A  Hfe  size  oil  portrait  of  Ward,  painted  by 
Jarvis,  hung  over  Mr.  Bethune's  parlor  mantel-piece 
for  fifty  years,  until  the  home  was  broken  up. 

In  another  room  in  the  Bethune  house,  there  used 
to  hang  a  large  engraving  of  the  landing  of  Captain 


PREFATORY  29 

Wilson  of  the  ship  "  Duff  "  and  the  first  missionaries 
to  Tahiti  (or  Otsheite,  as  it  used  to  be  called,)  of 
which  each  of  the  Directors  of  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society  received  a  copy.  On  one  of  the  walls  of 
the  same  room  were  engraved  likenesses  of  the 
pioneer  missionary  in  Africa,  Dr.  Vanderkemp,  a 
colored  drawing  of  Miss  Vandyke,  a  female  mission- 
ary in  India,  and  on  the  shelves  of  the  book  case  were 
always  to  be  found  the  latest  missionary  pamphlets 
of  the  New  York  Missionary  Society,  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  and  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  These,  with 
the  memoirs  of  Price,  Judson,  Harriet  Newell,  and 
other  missionary  pioneers,  were  the  Sunday  reading 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bethune's  grandchildren  (of  the 
McCartee  family)  who  generally  spent  their  Sunday 
afternoons  at  her  house.  Brought  up  under  such  in- 
fluences, it  is  hardly  surprising  that  one  of  those 
grandchildren  should  have  gone  to  China  and  spent  a 
long  life  as  a  medical  missionary. 


II 

SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE 

I  HURRY  through  my  school  days,  only  noting  a 
few  points  somewhat  interesting,  or  serving  as 
connecting  links  in  my  subsequent  career.  I  was 
born  in  Philadelphia  on  January  13,  1820,  where  my 
father  was  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Associate  Reformed 
Church  in  Spruce  Street,  removing  three  years  later  to 
his  native  city  of  New  York. 

At  five  years  of  age,  I  was  sent  to  the  school  of  M. 
S.  Slocum,  where,  being  the  youngest,  I  used  to  be 
frequently  sent  into  the  girls'  schoolroom  tO'  be  taught 
my  letters  by  the  lady  teacher,  Miss  Gillette,  whom  I 
had  the  pleasure  to  welcome  to  China  twenty-six  years 
afterwards.  I  remember  quite  distinctly  the  names 
and  faces  of  several  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  Slocum's 
school,  but  Dewitt  C.  Hays  and  his  brother  "  little 
Jake  Hays,"  more  particularly,  as  they  were  sons  of 
the  then  famous  Jacob  Hays,  "  High  Constable  "  of 
the  city,  who  used  to  walk  with  his  staff  of  office  in 
hand,  in  front  of  the  aldermen,  each  with  his  official 
staff,  in  all  the  great  processions  of  those  days.  Jacob 
Hays  had  a  very  great  reputation  as  a  detective,  and 
it  is  said  that  when  he  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 
dining  room  of  a  hotel  where  a  defaulter  or  other 
criminal  was  sitting  at  his  dinner,  the  latter  always 
dropped  his  knife  and  fork. 

30 


SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  31 

At  six  years  of  age,  I  was  sent  to  the  High  School, 
established  by  a  philanthropic  citizen,  Dr.  John  Gris- 
com,  and  at  that  time  taught  by  a  Mr.  Monfredi.  I 
remember  still  with  indignation,  the  boy  monitors, 
who  used  frequently  to  extort  bribes  from  the  smaller 
boys  to  keep  from  being  reported. 

In  November,  1825,  I  remember  gazing  at  the  grand 
procession  in  honor  of  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal. 
The  most  striking  features  of  the  procession  were  to 
me  the  Masonic  paraphernalia,  (this  was  before  the 
abduction  of  Morgan),  and  a  huge  open  Bible  which 
was  carried  on  a  stage  or  platform,  followed  by  the 
clergy  in  a  body.  In  1826  we  celebrated  the  semi- 
centennial anniversary  of  the  declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States.  I  enjoyed  it  im- 
mensely, but  was  reminded  that  little  boys  were  not 
free  and  independent  citizens,  by  catching  a  whipping 
for  going  out  to  Canal  Street  "  to  see  the  soldiers," 
after  I  had  been  enjoined  to  stay  in  doors  until  my 
father  returned  home. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-six  was  also  the  year 
when  negro  slavery  was  abolished  in  New  York,  and 
the  5th  of  July  was  thereafter  celebrated  annually  by 
the  colored  population  for  many  years. 

In  1827  my  father,  with  his  family,  removed  to  No. 
3  Bank  Street,  in  what  was  then  called  Greenwich  Vil- 
lage. Bank  Street  was  then  the  last  graded  street  in 
that  part  of  the  city,  and  terminated  at  the  foot  of  our 
garden,  on  the  riverside.  While  we  were  living  in 
Greenwich  Village,  I  attended  a  school  for  boys  and 
girls,  where  I  learned  little  except  mental  arithmetic. 
I  was  quickly  among  the  foremost  scholars  in  Col- 


32  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

burn's  Mental  Arithmetic,  although  I  never  took  a 
liking  to  Colburn's  Sequel,  or  to  any  other  book  on 
arithmetic,  until  I  realized  the  use  of  them  after- 
wards, when  I  was  engaged  in  practical  or  profes- 
sional studies.  Among  my  schoolmates  was  Thomas 
Cauley  Cooper,  who  was  afterwards  my  classmate  in 
Columbia  College,  and  whom  I  still  remember  with 
warm  regard.  My  school  teacher,  Mr.  Levi  Kidder, 
did  not  know  what  books  I  ought  to  study  which  went 
beyond  the  "  Three  R*s,"  but  in  the  winter  of  1829,  a 
course  of  lectures  on  chemistry  and  natural  philos- 
ophy were  advertised  to  be  delivered  by  a  Scotch  pro- 
fessor named  Steele  in  the  public  school  building  at 
the  corner  of  Grove  and  Hudson  Streets,  on  Saturday 
evenings,  and  my  father  purchased  a  ticket  for  me.  I 
attended  every  one  of  the  lectures  and  took  great  in- 
terest in  them;  and  as  they  continued  until  the  sum- 
mer, I  used,  after  we  had  removed  to  No.  3  Laight 
Street,  to  walk  up  to  the  lectures  and  back  every  Sat- 
urday night,  and  never  missed  one.  These  lectures 
were,  of  course,  comparatively  rudimentary,  but  they 
exercised  a  greater  influence  upon  my  subsequent 
career  in  life  than  almost  any  instruction  I  ever  en- 
joyed. From  that  time  I  commenced  to  make  "  ex- 
periments "  in  practical  chemistry,  to  collect  geolog- 
ical specimens,  and  to  investigate  the  animals  and 
plants  of  Manhattan  Island,  i.  e.,  the  Island  of  New 
York. 

My  father  used  to  take  his  family  into  the  country 
to  spend  the  August  vacation  every  summer,  never 
twice  to  the  same  place.  Once  (in  1827)  he  took  me, 
with  his  horse  and  gig,  on  a  trip  through  the  eastern 


SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  33 

part  of  New  York  State.  We  put  our  horse  and  gig 
on  the  steamship  "  Swiftsure,"  and  ourselves  were 
accommodated  in  the  "  safety  barge,"  "  Lady  CHn- 
ton."  There  was  another  "  safety  barge,"  the  "  Lady 
Van  Renstaer."  Each  steamboat  had  in  its  bow  a 
small  brass  cannon,  and  when  the  two  ladies  met,  each 
saluted  the  other.  Safety  being  the  object,  swiftness 
was  a  secondary  matter;  so  leaving  New  York  at  9 
A.  M.  we  reached  Albany  about  2  a.  m.  From  Albany 
we  went  to  Johntown,  Saratoga,  Salem,  Glens  Falls, 
and  Fort  Miller,  visiting  the  MacEachans  and  other 
relatives,  and  returned  to  Albany  via  Waterford  and 
Troy,  and  thence  to  New  York. 

Notwithstanding  my  early  religious  training,  and 
the  faithfulness  with  which  my  mother  taught  me  my 
catechism,  and  the  regularity  with  which  daily  family 
prayers  and  a  special  exercise  for  all  the  members  of 
the  family,  to  the  very  youngest,  on  Sunday  afternoon 
or  evening  were  conducted,  I  grew  to  manhood  with 
very  little  regard  for  faith  in  practical  religion.  My 
regard  and  affection  for  my  mother  and  sisters  would 
not  allow  me  to  let  them  go  unescorted  to  the  weekly 
evening  prayer  meeting,  but  I  took  no  interest  in  and 
paid  little  heed  to  the  exercises.  I  was,  however,  fond 
of  the  history  of  theological  polemics,  and  as  my 
father  had  a  good  library,  I  read  a  great  deal  of  con- 
troversial religious  literature.  In  January,  1841,  I 
made  a  profession  of  religion  at  Port  Carbon,  Pa., 
my  views  and  feelings  having  undergone  a  change 
while  trying  to  comfort  a  friend  who  was  thought  to 
be  dying,  and  who  was  in  great  distress  of  mind. 

I  was  quick  at  Greek  and  Latin,  and  fond  of  geol- 


34  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ogy,  mineralogy,  and  natural  history,  and  at  fourteen 
the  professor  of  Greek  in  Columbia  College  offered  to 
admit  me  into  the  sophomore  class,  but  I  preferred 
to  enter  the  freshman  class,  several  of  the  members 
of  which  had  been  my  schoolmates  previously.  I, 
however,  did  not  wish  to  go  to  college  at  all,  the 
ancient  languages  and  mathematics  being  almost  the 
only  branches  of  learning  taught  there,  and  I  proposed 
to  my  father  to  let  me  study  the  modern  languages 
and  the  natural  sciences ;  but  it  was  only  after  I  had 
finished  the  junior  year,  that  he  consented  to  my  doing 
so,  and  then  he  insisted  on  my  learning  a  profession. 
I  chose  the  profession  of  medicine,  and  leaving  New 
York  spent  a  good  part  of  four  years  in  Schuylkill 
County,  Pennsylvania,  studying  geology  in  the  coal 
mines,  and  assisting  my  medical  teacher.  Dr.  Pratt,  in 
his  practice.  Having  read  a  good  many  medical 
works  and  witnessed  some  surgical  operations,  I  was 
soon  trusted  to  visit  the  old  doctor's  patients  among 
the  miners'  families,  and  among  the  Dutch  speaking 
natives.  The  falls  and  winters  I  spent  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania University  and  attending  the  clinics  at  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Blockley  Hospitals,  and  having 
passed  my  examinations  with  some  distinction,  I  re- 
ceived my  diploma  of  M.D.,  April  1st,  1840,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  spontaneous  and  unanimous  recom- 
mendation for  the  post  of  assistant  physician  at  the 
Blockley  Hospital,  which,  however,  it  was  not  con- 
venient for  me  to  accept. 

The  mining  population  of  Schuylkill  County  had 
already  begun  to  show  signs  of  lawlessness  and  vio- 
lence, that  afterwards  culminated  in  the  excesses  and 


SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  35 

murders  committed  by  the  "  Molly  Maguires,"  and 
my  father  was  unwilling  that  I  should  remain  long  in 
the  coal  regions.  I  made  a  visit  to  Detroit,  where,  at 
the  house  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duffield,  the  husband  of  my 
mother's  sister,  Isabella  Graham  Duffield,  I  fell  ill  of 
"  congestive  fever,"  and  for  a  while  was  hardly  ex- 
pected to  recover,  and  when  I  did  recover,  there  being 
no  railroads  between  Detroit  and  New  York,  and  the 
Lakes  being  frozen,  I  was  obliged  to  remain  until 
April,  and  enjoyed  greatly  a  revival  of  religion  among 
the  young  people  in  Dr.  Duffield's  church.  When  I 
reached  Goshen,  Orange  County,  N.  Y.,  my  father 
was  then  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  there. 
Here  I  took  part  in  organizing  prayer  meetings  among 
the  young  people,  and  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Walsh,  afterwards  one  of  our  missionaries  in  India, 
and  with  the  Rev.  Daniel  Wells,  then  the  treasurer  of 
our  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and 
through  him  with  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  then  Sec- 
retary of  the  Board. 

Just  about  that  time,  in  the  Missionary  Magazine 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  appeared  a  very  urgent  appeal  for  a  mission- 
ary physician.  The  "  call "  seemed  to  be  to  any 
Christian  physician  (to  go  to  Hawaii)  who  could  go, 
and  as  I  was  then  without  any  excuse  I  started  for 
New  York  to  see  the  secretary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
on  the  subject.  My  relatives  did  not  think  I  had  a 
physical  constitution  sufficiently  strong  for  such  work, 
but  hearing  that  I  had  been  thinking  of  becoming  a 
medical  missionary,  Mr.  Walsh  invited  me  to  talk 
with  him  and  the  Hon.  W.  Lowrie  on  the  subject. 


36  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Mr.  Lowrie  said  that  they  had  within  a  year  sent  out 
a  medical  missionary  to  Siam,  but  that  he  had  felt 
obliged  to  give  up  the  attempt  to  go  to  Bangkok,  and 
had  stopped  in  Singapore,  on  account  of  the  trying 
nature  of  the  climate  in  Siam.  He  did  not  urge  me 
to  try  it,  nor  did  I  think  that  he  judged  me  to  be  a 
suitable  person  to  be  sent  out.  But  I  think  that  Mr. 
Daniel  Wells,  the  treasurer,  must  have  spoken  a  word 
of  recommendation,  for  afterwards  Mr.  Lowrie  him- 
self came  and  asked  me  to  go  to  China.  The  Secre- 
tary of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  seemed  also  not  very  anx- 
ious to  have  his  Board  appoint  a  medical  missionary 
just  then,  and  I  got  the  impression  that  he  considered 
the  appeal  which  I  had  seen  only  one  of  the  calls  for 
"  more  laborers,"  which  some  missionaries  seem  to 
think  they  must  send  out  from  time  to  time  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest,  without  reference  to 
the  "  whiteness  "  or  otherwise  of  the  field. 

On  my  way  back  to  Philadelphia  I  stopped  at 
Princeton  to  attend  the  college  commencement  at 
which  a  young  man  was  to  graduate  whose  parents 
were  members  of  my  father's  church  in  Goshen,  and 
to  visit  some  young  men  who  were  students  in  the 
theological  seminary  who  had  made  a  profession  of 
their  faith  in  Christ  during  the  revival  in  my  father's 
church  in  Goshen,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  to 
whom  I  had  given  at  my  father's  request  some  in- 
struction in  Hebrew  and  New  Testament  Greek. 
Here  I  met  Messrs.  Loomis  and  Culbertson,  and  the 
lady  whom  the  latter  afterwards  took  to  China  as  his 
wife,  who  were  then  boarding  at  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Wells,  and  also  the  latter's  son,  later  the  Rev.  John 


SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  37 

D.  Wells,  D.D.,  president  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  Going  to  Philadelphia,  I  took  a 
post-graduate  course  in  medicine,  and  used  to  work 
in  the  wards  of  the  Blockley  Hospital  and  cross  the 
Schuylkill  River  in  a  skiff  with  Elisha  Kane,  after- 
wards a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  Navy  who  be- 
came famous  as  an  Arctic  explorer.  We  had  been 
born  in  the  same  town  in  the  same  month  of  the  same 
year,  though  he  was  a  couple  of  years  my  junior  in 
the  University. 

Various  circumstances  led  to  my  becoming  intimate 
with  Dr.  W.  W.  Gerhard,  assistant  professor  of  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  was  impressed  with  the  large  amount  of 
medical  scientifio  works  I  had  read,  and  offered  me  a 
junior  partnership  with  himself  and  Dr.  W.  Poyntell 
Johnson,  my  principal  work  being  to  teach  advanced 
medical  students.  At  this  time  I  first  met  Dr.  William 
Speer,  afterwards  a  missionary  in  China  and  San 
Francisco,  who  introduced  me  to  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Hap- 
per  who  I  was  surprised  to  learn  was  a  student  at  Dr. 
Gerhard's  office,  where  I  afterwards  saw  him. 

My  medical  and  surgical  practice  among  the  col- 
lieries and  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch  farmers  was  of 
great  benefit  to  me  after  I  became  a  physician  on  the 
foreign  mission  field.  There  were  very  many  acci- 
dents happening  in  the  mines,  and  the  practising 
physicians  in  Potts ville  left  the  treatment  of  them  to 
Dr.  Pratt,  who  was  a  fearless  surgeon,  and  also  ex- 
ceedingly popular  as  a  family  physician,  but  his  office 
was  also  in  Pottsville,  and,  in  consequence,  a  large 
number  of  cases  fell  under  my  care  owing  to  the 


38  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

urgency  of  the  cases  and  the  distance  of  "  the  old 
Doctor's  "  place  of  residence.  Then  among  the  Dutch 
families  there  were  many  who  spoke  no  English,  and 
the  old  doctor  would  not  try  to  learn  to  speak 
"  Dutch."  I  got  Follen's  German  Grammar  and 
learned  the  dialogues  in  it,  and  then  found  it  a  not 
very  difficult  task  to  understand  and  to  make  myself 
understood  by  the  patients,  so  that  in  the  intervals 
between  the  courses  of  medical  lectures  (*.  e.,  between 
March  and  October  of  each  year,)  I  had  the  care  and 
responsibility  of  a  large  number  of  cases;  and  no 
objection  was  made  by  the  patients  to  my  youthful- 
ness.  The  family  practice  in  Pennsylvania  made  me 
feel  quite  at  home  in  practising  among  missionary 
families  on  the  foreign  field,  and  gave  the  mission- 
aries confidence  and  gained  me  many  warm  friends. 
Learning  to  speak  Pennsylvania  Dutch  also  gave  me 
some  ideas  as  to  the  best  method  of  how  to  learn  to 
speak  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  languages.  It  was 
like  what  mechanics  call  "  getting  the  use  of  tools." 


Ill 

CALL  TO  CHINA 

WHEN  the  news  reached  the  United  States 
that  a  treaty  between  China  and  Great 
Britain  had  been  concluded  by  Sir  Henry 
Pottinger  at  Nanking,  on  August  29th,  1842,  and  rati- 
fied by  the  Emperor  of  China  in  September  of  the 
same  year,  the  idea  of  going  as  a  medical  missionary 
to  China  at  once  suggested  itself  to  my  mind ;  but  as  I 
heard  nothing  leading  me  to  suppose  that  the 
Churches  were  thinking  of  sending  missionaries  to 
the  newly  opened  ports,  I  said  nothing  to  my  friends, 
lest  I  should  appear  fickle  or  disposed  to  give  up  the 
plans  upon  which  I  had  just  entered.  I  was  then 
compiling,  at  the  request  of  a  firm  of  medical  pub- 
lishers, a  Manual  of  Examinations  for  medical 
students,  and  there  was  some  talk  of  my  going  across 
the  Atlantic  to  look  into  the  practice  in  one  or  more 
of  the  hospitals  there. 

When  the  general  assembly  had  commenced  its 
meeting  in  Philadelphia,  in  June,  1843,  I  met  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Krebs,  an  old  personal  friend,  in  the  street,  and 
asked  him  if  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  go- 
ing to  do  anything  for  China,  now  that  it  had  been 
partially  thrown  open.  He  replied :  "  Yes,  if  we  can 
raise  twenty-five  thousand  dollars."  That  was  rather 
discouraging,  to  say  the  least,  for  Mission  Boards  did 

39 


40  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

not  then  often  raise  that  amount  of  money  on  a  short 
notice.  But  a  few  days  afterwards,  I  had  gone  in  to 
look  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  Dr. 
MacDowell's  Church  in  Eighth  Street,  and  was  com- 
ing away,  when  some  one  put  his  hand  upon  my 
shoulder.  Turning  around,  I  saw  the  Hon.  Walter 
Lowrie,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  who  asked  me  what  I 
was  doing,  and  I  told  him.  He  then  said :  "  When 
will  that  book  be  finished  ?  "  I  told  him  that  I  was 
under  contract  to  have  it  finished  by  November.  He 
asked,  "  Couldn't  you  get  rid  of  it  ?  "  I  answered 
with  some  surprise  that  I  had  no  doubt  that  there 
were  young  doctors  who  would  be  glad  of  the  job; 
"but  what  is  it  that  you  want  of  me?"  said  I. 
"  Want  you  to  go  to  China ;  and  you  will  have  no  time 
to  spare,"  said  he.  I  asked  him  when  they  wished  me 
to  go.  He  said,  "  By  the  first  of  October."  "  Well," 
said  I,  "  I  must  first  get  my  father's  and  my  mother's 
consent."  I  immediately  wrote  to  my  parents,  but  got 
no  reply  until  the  latter  part  of  August. 

When  passing  through  New  York  on  my  way  to 
Goshen,  I  called  at  the  Mission  Rooms,  at  23  Centre 
Street,  where  I  met  Mr.  William  Steele,  the  old 
senior  elder  in  my  father's  church  in  Canal  Street, 
who  used  to  hear  my  catechism  when  I  was  a  child. 
He  told  me  that  my  parents  would  offer  no  opposition 
to  my  going  to  China,  as  proposed.  Mr.  Lowrie  told 
me  to  write  out  my  application  for  appointment  and 
send  it  in,  saying,  "  It  will  be  granted."  The  major- 
ity of  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  had 
known  me  from  my  early  childhood,  some  of  them 


CALL  TO  CHINA  41 

having  been  my  father's  college  classmates,  or  his  co- 
presbyters,  and  I  had  become  acquainted  with  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Wells,  at  the  bedside  of  his  sick  brother-in- 
law,  and  during  the  revival  in  my  father's  church  in 
Goshen ;  so  I  suppose  my  appointment  had  been  thor- 
oughly talked  over  by  them. 

I  myself  had  some  uneasiness  as  to  whether  my 
spiritual  attainments  were  such  as  a  missionary  ought 
to  have,  and  I  put  the  question  to  the  Secretary,  who 
answered  me  in  the  affirmative.  (I  have  often  asked 
myself  the  question  since,  but  I  have  always  been  con- 
fident that  my  motives  were  pure  and  my  intentions 
right,  whatever  might  be  my  imperfections.)  It  did 
not  occur  to  me  to  ask  any  questions  as  to  salary, 
outfit,  etc.,  but  I  merely  handed  in  a  list  of  medicines 
which  I  thought  I  should  need.  I  had  a  small  stock 
of  surgical  instruments  of  my  own,  which  I  had  used 
in  my  practice  among  the  miners  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  my  grandmother  gave  me  a  sum  of  money  to  pur- 
chase any  more  I  might  require. 

Before  I  left  for  China,  my  mother  told  me  that 
when  Dr.  Robert  Morrison,  the  first  Protestant  mis- 
sionary to  China,  was  a  guest  at  her  father's  for  sev- 
eral weeks  in  1807,  awaiting  the  sailing  of  some 
American  vessel  for  China,  (for  the  Hon.  East  India 
Company  would  not  allow  Christian  missionaries  to 
be  carried  in  their  ships,)  she  was  a  very  young  girl, 
and  felt  badly  because  she  could  not  go  too,  "  but 
now,"  she  said,  "  you  are  going  in  my  place." 

A  number  of  years  later,  in  making  an  address  in 
Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  at  the  request  of  the  venerable  Mrs. 
Doremus,  the  founder  of  the  Women's  Union  Mis- 


42  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

sionary  Society,  I  repeated  this  story  about  my 
mother,  and  told  the  ladies  that  in  China  I  had  known 
of  cases  where,  on  account  of  severe  illness,  a  mother 
had  made  a  vow  that  she  would  offer  incense  and 
worship  in  every  temple  in  the  city,  but  that  her  filial 
son,  to  save  his  mother  from  undergoing  the  fatigue 
had  gone  in  her  place,  and  paid  the  worship  in  every 
temple  according  to  his  mother^s  vow ;  and  now  that 
my  mother  had  said  that  I  was  going  in  her  place,  I 
thought  they  might  consider  me,  in  some  respects,  at 
least,  a  female  missionary. 

On  the  first  Sunday  in  October,  1843,  at  our  home 
in  Goshen  where  I  had  gone  to  spend  a  fortnight,  my 
father  asked  me  just  before  church  time:  "  When  will 
your  ship  sail  ?  "  I  replied :  "  I  shall  have  to  go  to 
New  York  to-morrow."  He  immediately  left  the 
room  and  went  to  speak  to  my  mother.  After  the 
morning  service,  my  father  gave  out  notice  that  one 
of  the  members  of  the  church  expected  to  leave  the 
next  day  on  a  mission  to  China;  and  he  invited  all 
who  were  interested  to  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer 
for  missions,  to  be  held  in  the  evening.  The  church 
was  pretty  well  filled.  The  next  morning  my  father 
kept  himself  very  busy  until  the  time  for  starting 
drew  near,  when  my  mother  got  up,  and  putting  her 
arms  round  my  neck  for  a  moment,  left  the  room 
without  a  word.  I  never  saw  her  face  again.  She 
used  to  write  to  me  very  frequently  until  her  hand 
became  paralyzed  and  she  could  write  no  longer.  On 
the  18th  of  February,  1855,  she  lay  speechless,  all  her 
ten  children  around  her,  save  myself.  She  looked 
earnestly  at  them  one  after  another,  but  seemed  as  if 


CALL  TO  CHINA  43 

still  unsatisfied,  and  fixed  her  eyes  upon  a  vase  which 
I  had  sent  her  from  China.  One  of  my  sisters  went 
and  brought  my  daguerreotype,  at  which  she  gazed 
earnestly,  and  then  with  an  expression  of  satisfaction, 
closed  her  eyes  to  open  them  in  the  brighter  world 
where  the  inhabitants  shall  say  no  more,  "  I  am  sick." 
Just  before  leaving  Goshen,  I  called  to  bid  good- 
bye to  a  clergyman  with  whom  my  father  was  on  inti- 
mate terms  and  for  whom  I  had  great  respect,  and 
when  bidding  him  good-bye,  said :  "  I  do  not  suppose 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  do  anything  for  you  in  China, 
but  if  there  should  be,  it  would  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  do  it."  In  replying  he  said,  "If  you  should  meet 
a  young  man  on  that  side  of  the  world,  named  Wil- 
liam P.  G ,  I  wish  you  would  try  and  do  him  all 

the  good  you  can."    Of  course  I  promised  to  do  so, 
but  did  not  have  much  expectation  of  ever  seeing  him. 


IV 
THE  SHIP  "  HUNTRESS  " 

THE  sailing  of  the  "  Huntress  "  was  put  off  until 
Friday.  There  was  a  small  farewell  meeting 
at  the  Mission  Rooms,  at  which  were  present 
some  of  the  Executive  Committee,  Mr.  D.  W.  C. 
Olyphant,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  ship  "  Huntress," 
my  father  and  younger  brother,  Peter  McCartee,  my 
cousin,  the  Rev.  George  Dufifield,  Jr.,  and  my  uncle, 
the  Rev.  George  W.  Bethune,  D.D.  My  father  and 
brother,  an  uncle  and  aunt  Sherwood,  and  young 
Mr.  Robert  M.  Olyphant,  went  with  us  in  the  ship 
down  the  bay  until  we  cast  off  the  tow  line,  and  the 
tug  returned  to  the  city,  leaving  us  to  go  on  our  voy- 
age. This  was  a  bright,  cool  afternoon,  October 
6th,  1843. 

The  ship  "  Huntress  "  was  an  old-fashioned,  full 
rigged  vessel,  not  very  large,  nor  a  very  swift  sailer, 
but  very  comfortable.  She  belonged  to  the  firm  of 
Talbot,  Olyphant,  and  Co.,  of  New  York  and  Canton, 
China,  one  of  the  senior  partners  of  which,  Mr.  D.  W. 
C.  Olyphant,  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Presbyterian  Missionary  Board.  This 
was  a  firm  that  had  named  one  of  their  ships  the 
"  Morrison,"  and  in  1837  had  sent  her  to  Japan,  at  an 
expense  of  $2,000,  to  attempt  to  restore  to  their  native 
land  seven  shipwrecked  Japanese.     (I  shall  have  oc- 

44 


THE  SHIP  "HUNTRESS"  45 

casion  to  refer  again  to  this  expedition  when  I  come 
to  speak  of  Japan.)  The  "  Huntress  "  herself  was 
regarded  as  a  kind  of  missionary  ship,  as  she  carried, 
first  and  last,  to  and  from  China,  free  of  charge,  some 
forty  or  more  missionaries,  English  as  well  as  Ameri- 
cans. Mrs.  C.  W.  King,  (one  of  the  party  on  board 
the  "  Morrison  "  on  the  trip  to  Japan  in  1837,)  the 
wife  of  Charles  W.  King,  Esq.,  head  of  the  firm  in 
Canton,  and  Frederic  King,  his  brother,  who  had  also 
spent  a  year  or  two  in  Canton,  were  our  fellow  pas- 
sengers. Everything  that  could  conduce  to  our  com- 
fort was  lavishly  provided ;  and  when  after  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  days  we  left  the  ship  at  Hong 
Kong,  we  carried  with  us  only  the  most  pleasant 
memories  of  our  voyage. 

Among  our  other  passengers  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Richard  Cole  and  Gea  Gek,  a  Cochin-Chinese  who  had 
been  ransomed  and  brought  back  to  the  United  States 
by  one  of  the  missionaries,  and  who  had  afterwards 
learned  something  about  the  art  of  printing  from  Mr. 
Cole  while  the  latter  was  working  at  the  Mission 
Rooms  upon  the  Chinese  matrices  and  type  for  the 
Mission  Press  in  China.  Our  Secretary,  the  Hon. 
Walter  Lowrie,  had  told  me  that  his  son,  the  Rev. 
Walter  M.  Lowrie,  who  sailed  for  Singapore  in  the 
preceding  year,  and  I  were  to  go  together  to  Ningpo ; 
and  that  Gea  Gek  would  act  as  an  interpreter  for  us ! 
S'o  little  was  then  known  of  the  spoken  languages  of 
the  East,  even  by  those  who,  like  the  Hon.  Walter 
Lowrie,  had  paid  some  attention  to  the  Chinese  writ- 
ten languages,  that  those  who  had  never  been  in  China 
seemed  to  suppose  that  all  the  countries  east  of  Bur- 


46  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

mah  spoke  the  same  dialect.  I  reached  Ningpo  two 
years  before  Gea  Gek  did,  and  had  to  be  interpreter 
for  him,  as  well  as  for  Mr.  Walter  M.  Lowrie  in  1845. 

Captain  Lovett  of  the  "  Huntress "  was  a  very- 
genial  man  and  a  very  careful  ship-captain.  He  be- 
came a  professing  Christian  before  his  death  many 
years  afterwards.  The  first  mate,  Mr.  David  Gilles- 
pie, (later  Captain  Gillespie,  of  Morristown,  N.  J., 
and  for  many  years  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Ameri- 
can Seamen's  Friend  Society),  was  a  pious  man,  and 
three  of  the  able  seamen  were  also  professing  Chris- 
tians. There  were,  including  officers,  crew,  and  pas- 
sengers, twenty-six  souls  in  all  on  board  our  ship ;  we 
had  also  a  cow,  which  gave  us  milk  all  the  way  to 
China,  a  goat,  sheep,  fowls,  and  a  hawksbill  turtle 
which  remained  on  board  from  a  previous  voyage. 

All  the  passengers  were  sea-sick  for  the  first 
twenty-four  hours  after  leaving  Sandy  Hook,  but  I 
got  on  deck  and  to  dinner  in  the  course  of  the  first 
forty-eight  hours.  On  Monday  morning  young  Mr. 
King  made  his  appearance,  but  the  other  passengers 
not  until  the  fifth  or  sixth  day.  As  soon  as  we  had 
all  recovered  our  usual  health,  we  commenced  to  have 
evening  worship  in  the  cabin,  conducted  by  Mr.  Cole, 
Mr.  Bridgman,  and  myself  in  turns.  All  of  the  pas- 
sengers attended,  and  also  the  captain  or  Mr.  Gilles- 
pie, and  on  Sunday  we  had  a  service  and  a  sermon 
read  by  one  of  us,  held  in  the  cuddy,  to  which  all  the 
crew  who  were  not  actually  on  duty  were  invited,  and 
most  of  them  came. 

I  was  up  betimes  and  on  deck  every  morning  and 
soon  selected  as  my  retreat  the  mizzen-top,  which  in 


THE  SHIP  "HUNTRESS"  47 

our  small  ship  was  not  very  high  up  from  the  poop 
deck,  and  there  as  a  rule,  with  my  book,  I  spent 
every  pleasant  morning,  out  of  reach  of  all  discom- 
fort from  the  washing  down  of  decks  and  the  like. 
Finding  that  Mr.  Gillespie  had  an  old  quadrant  which 
he  had  given  up  using,  I  borrowed  it,  and  after  that  I 
always  took  the  sun  and  calculated  the  latitude,  and 
noted  the  time  by  the  chronometer  for  the  Captain 
when  he  took  his  forenoon  observation.  I  generally 
worked  the  longitude  also.  Captain  Lovett,  finding 
that  I  took  an  interest  in  such  things,  handed  over  to 
me  four  boys  who  were  to  show  me  their  lessons  in 
navigation.  This  experience  was  useful  to  me  thir- 
teen years  afterwards  on  the  voyage  home  from  China 
of  the  ship  "  Wild  Pigeon."  The  Captain  had  lost  his 
first  mate,  and  his  second  mate  being  only  an  ordinary 
seaman,  was  no  navigator.  Finding  me  working  out 
the  problems  in  a  book  of  navigation  on  a  new  plan, 
the  captain  asked  me  to  compare  results  with  him 
while  he  worked  in  the  way  in  which  he  had  been 
accustomed,  i.  e.,  according  to  Bowditch.  When  we 
met  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Falmouth,"  not  far  from  Fernando 
de  Noronha  near  the  equator,  he  was  asked  for  his 
latitude  and  longitude,  which  he  had  not  worked  out, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  make  use  of  mine. 

When  we  were  in  the  region  of  the  calms,  in  the 
Atlantic,  one  of  the  Christian  seamen,  "  Old  Tom," 
fell  from  aloft  into  the  sea,  fracturing  his  skull  by 
striking  upon  the  rail,  and  we  watched  him  sinking 
until  he  sank  out  of  sight.  A  boat  was,  of  course, 
lowered,  but  poor  Tom's  body  was  not  recovered.  A 
shark  hook  baited  with  a  piece  of  pork  was  towing 


48  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

astern,  as  a  shark  had  been  swimming-  around  the 
ship,  and  had  made  a  snap  at  "  Old  Tom's  "  cap, 
which  was  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  but 
he  did  not  seem  to  notice  the  body.  A  couple  of 
hours  or  so  after  this  the  shark  swallowed  the  baited 
hook,  and  was  quickly  hauled  up  and  run  forward  on 
the  main  deck,  snapping  at  every  one  who  came  near. 
The  men  called  out  for  the  doctor  to  open  the  shark's 
maw,  as  they  did  not  like  to  do  so,  because  there 
could  be  felt  something  like  a  man's  arm  inside  the 
shark.  I  cut  open  the  shark  and  found  a  "  heaver," 
or  stick  of  wood,  which  some  one  had  thrust  into  the 
shark's  mouth,  and  had  forgotten.  I  found  that  the 
shark  was  one  of  the  viviparous  variety  and  took  out 
of  her  four  living  young  sharks  ten  to  fifteen  inches 
long,  which  we  kept  alive  in  a  tub  of  water  for  sev- 
eral days.  When  we  were  in  the  warm  waters  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  not  far  from  the  Island  of  Java,  Mr. 
King,  Mr.  Bridgman,  and  I  used  to  take  warm  baths 
by  standing  below  the  bowsprit,  and  dipping  up  the 
warm  sea  water  and  pouring  it  one  over  another  al- 
ternately. One  morning  we  thought  we  would  vary 
our  mode  of  bathing  by  taking  a  swim  in  the  ocean, 
but  were  kept  from  doing  so  by  a  remark  from  the 
captain.  We  had  hardly  sat  down  to  breakfast,  when 
the  cry  of  "  Shark  O  "  was  raised,  and  the  crew  suc- 
ceeded after  two  attempts,  in  hooking  and  hauling  on 
board  the  biggest,  fiercest,  and  most  voracious  shark 
that  I  ever  saw,  of  quite  a  different  species  from  the 
one  we  had  caught  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  We  were 
quite  satisfied,  to  say  the  least,  that  we  had  not  car- 
ried out  our  proposed  swim. 


THE  SHIP  "  HUNTRESS  "  49 

Being  fond  of  natural  history  I  dissected  quite  a 
number  of  porpoises,  and  was  much  interested  in  no- 
ticing the  strong  resemblance  between  the  internal 
organs  including  the  lungs  and  brain  of  the  ocean  or 
acquatic  mammalia  with  those  of  the  terrestrial  mam- 
mals that  I  had  dissected.  Some  of  us,  including 
some  of  the  crew,  tried  the  flavour  of  porpoise  meat, 
but  as  even  the  crew  got  at  least  one  mess  of  fresh 
meat  every  time  that  a  sheep  or  a  pig  was  killed,  no 
one  seemed  to  "  call  for  more  "  porpoise,  after  the 
first  trial.  I  noticed  that,  after  passing  the  meridian 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  porpoises  were  of  a 
different  color  from  those  which  we  saw  in  the  At- 
lantic, and  had  also  a  dorsal  fin,  which  the  beaked 
porpoises  of  the  Atlantic  had  not.  We  caught  also 
bonito,  or  tunny,  (resembHng,  but  smaller  in  size 
than  the  Japanese  maguro,)  and  dolphins.  In  the 
Sargasso  Sea,  the  ship  being  almost  stationary,  I 
collected  gulf  weed,  with  small  crustaceans,  squid, 
etc.,  and  after  passing  "  The  Cape  "  caught  several 
albatrosses,  one  of  them  a  splendid  white  speci- 
men whose  wings  had  a  stretch  or  span  of  more 
than  six  feet,  and  whose  majestic  soaring,  without 
the  least  perceptible  effort,  created  in  me  such  an 
admiration  that  I  felt  sorry  while  I  was  stuffing  its 
skin  that  I  had  killed  it.  I  also  kept  a  regular 
meteorological  journal,  in  which  I  entered  every  four 
hours  the  courses  sailed,  the  winds,  clouds,  tempera- 
ture, etc.,  during  the  day  and  night.  I  moreover 
kept  a  journal  of  events  which  I  sent  home  to  my 
father  and  mother,  and  with  these,  together  with 
my  navigation  class  of  boys,  it  may  be  easily  seen 


50  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

that  time  did  not  hang  heavy  on  my  hands  during 
that  very  long  voyage. 

The  sudden  death  of  poor  old  Tom  had  a  very  sol- 
emn effect  upon  us  all,  and  I  took  advantage  of  the 
feeling  that  had  been  produced  to  get  my  class  of 
boys  to  join  a  Bible  class  held  every  Sunday  after- 
noon in  the  steerage  (or  "between  decks,")  which 
was  nearly  or  quite  empty  of  cargo,  as  frequently 
happened  in  those  days  of  "  tea  ships."  Two  were 
half  grown  young  men,  who  had  made  several  voy- 
ages, and  were  intelligent  and  well-behaved.  Two  of 
the  "  boys  "  were  the  sons  of  clergymen.  One  of  them 
seemed  for  a  while  to  be  interested  in  the  subject  of 
his  own  salvation,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Bible 
class  were  apparently  interested  in  the  study  of  the 
Bible.  The  older  men  among  the  crew  except  the  two 
remaining  Christians  were  apparently  without  any 
relish  for  such  things  and  never  came  to  the  Sunday 
service  in  the  cabin.  One  of  the  oldest  seamen  I  fre- 
quently chatted  with  at  night  when  I  had  gone  on 
deck  to  take  meteorological  observations  for  the  jour- 
nal which  I  was  keeping  to  send  home.  He  had  some 
grievance  against  some  professing  Christians,  and 
was  very  severe  in  his  remarks  upon  the  inconsistency 
of  many  Christians.  I  told  him  that  I  thought  that 
we  could  not  do  better  to  change  that  state  of  things 
than  ourselves  to  set  a  good  example.  Before  we 
reached  Hong  Kong,  the  boys  told  me  that  "  Old 
Bill "  had  "  knocked  off "  swearing  and  taken  to 
reading  the  Bible.  I  asked  him  about  it  and  he 
acknowledged  that  his  feelings  had  undergone  a 
change  and  that  he  was  determined  henceforth  to 


THE  SHIP  "HUNTRESS"  61 

lead  a  different  life.  When  I  said  good-bye  to  him 
and  expressed  my  hope  that  he  might  have  grace 
given  him  to  persevere  in  his  resolution  henceforth  to 
serve  God,  he  answered  hopefully  and  cheerfully  that 
he  would  endeavor  to  do  so. 

After  leaving  New  York  we  did  not  sight  the 
Island  of  St.  Paul  in  the  Atlantic  to  the  north  of  the 
equator,  although  the  captain  went  up  aloft  to  look  out 
for  it,  but  we  sighted  Martinyas  and  Trinidad  south 
of  the  equator,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil ;  neither  did  we 
sight  Tristan  da  Cunha  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
but  we  sighted  another  Island  of  St.  Paul  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  missed 
seeing  Sandalwood  Island.  As  we  knew  that  the 
northerly  monsoon  was  blowing  in  the  China  Sea  (in 
January),  we  did  not  try  to  enter  the  Straits  of  Sunda 
this  voyage,  but  kept  farther  to  the  eastward,  the  first 
land  we  saw  being  the  Island  of  Sumbawa,  to  the 
east  of  Java,  with  its  volcano  rising  like  a  cone,  and 
blazing  brightly,  which  is  passed  in  going  through  the 
Straits  of  Timor ;  and  through  the  Banda  Sea,  passing 
near  enough  the  Island  of  Amblau  and  Bouro  to 
smell  the  literally  "  spicy  breezes," — by  which  our 
goat  seemed  quite  excited. 

Shortly  after  passing  through  the  Straits  of  Timor 
we  experienced  several  shocks  of  earthquake.  The 
first  was  early  in  the  morning,  and  gave  us  a  sensa- 
tion as  if  the  ship  had  touched  the  bottom,  and  an- 
other shock  while  we  were  at  our  midday  meal,  made 
the  glasses  in  the  pantry  rattle.  I  was  sitting  close 
to  the  marine  barometer,  and  jumped  up  to  see  if  it 
were  affected,  and  then  ran  up  on  deck,  to  look  over 


62  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

the  side  of  the  ship  to  see  if  the  water  showed  any 
effects  of  the  earthquake,  but  none  were  visible.  The 
captain  had  apparently  never  felt  such  an  earthquake 
shock  before,  and  thought  I  showed  great  irreverence, 
so  to  speak.  The  ship  drifted  slowly  through  the 
different  passages,  taking  advantage  of  the  frequent 
squalls  to  get  a  little  on  our  way.  We  did  not  go  out 
through  the  Gibolo  Straits,  where  we  saw  the  U.  S. 
frigate  "  Brandywine  "  lying  at  anchor,  with  the  Hon. 
Caleb  Gushing,  the  first  representative  of  the  United 
States  to  China,  on  board,  but  kept  on  to  the  east- 
ward and  out  through  the  Dampier's  Strait  between 
Papua  and  the  Island  of  Waigin,  (where  afterwards 
Wallace,  the  naturalist,  made  his  explorations,)  into 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  when  we  changed  our  course  to  the 
northward.  We  were  becalmed  several  days  within 
sight  of  Papua,  but  after  we  got  a  favoring  breeze,  we 
saw  no  more  land  until  we  came  to  the  Bashee  Straits 
to  the  southward  of  Formosa  on  Sunday,  the  18th  of 
February,  entered  the  China  Sea,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing sighted  Pedro  Blanco  and  then  the  Island  of 
Hong  Kong. 


V 
ARRIVAL  AT  HONG  KONG 

I  CAN  well  recall  the  bright  sunny  day,  the  19th 
of  February,  1844,  when  the  good  ship  "  Hunt- 
ress," after  a  long  but  pleasant  voyage  of  146 
days,  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Hong  Kong. 
English  men-of-war  and  merchantmen,  American 
clipper  ships,  and  clumsy  Chinese  junks  formed  a 
strange  but  interesting  feature  of  the  scene.  It  was 
the  second  day  of  the  Chinese  New  Year.  The 
smaller  junks  with  their  mat  sails,  the  little  "  tanka  " 
(egg-shaped  boats),  plying  between  the  ships  and  the 
shore,  and  sculled  by  barefooted  women  clad  in  jack- 
ets and  trousers,  with  long  queues  hanging  down  be- 
hind, (and  perhaps  a  baby  strapped  upon  their  backs), 
the  clashing  of  almost  innumerable  gongs,  the  firing 
or  fire  crackers,  kept  up  an  incessant  and  bewildering 
din;  while  on  the  land,  procession  after  procession 
with  gorgeous  banners  and  long  dragons  carried  upon 
poles  by  twenty  or  more  men,  with  the  firing  of 
"  double  headers,"  and  now  and  then  of  small  cannon 
and  match-locks,  all  combined  to  make  up  an  as- 
semblage of  sights  and  sounds  such  as  one  newly 
arrived  from  the  Western  world  would  hardly  be 
likely  ever  to  forget. 

Hong  Kong,  at  that  time,  gave  little  promise  of 
being  what  it  has  since  become,  one  of  the  best  known 

53 


54  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

and  most  important  of  Great  Britain's  possessions, 
with  its  splendid  land-locked  harbor,  its  numerous 
handsome  buildings,  the  palatial  establishments  of 
merchant  princes,  its  beautiful  botanic  gardens,  and 
its  well-built  streets  crowded  with  a  bustling  throng 
made  up  of  people  of  almost  every  nation  and  tribe 
under  heaven,  speaking  discordant  languages,  and 
dressed  in  almost  every  kind  of  garb. 

At  that  time  the  sides  of  the  hills  were  ragged  with 
excavations.  Streets  or  building  sites  were  being  dug 
out;  huge  round  masses,  ("boulders,"  as  the  un- 
learned call  them)  of  syenite  or  basalt  lay  here  and 
there,  to  the  uncovering  and  disintegration  of  which 
was  then  attributed  the  great  mortality  that  prevailed 
among  the  Europeans  and  East  Indian  residents. 
With  the  exception  of  the  residence  of  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Colony,  the  Morrison  School  taught  by 
the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  afterwards  one  of  the  pioneer 
missionaries  to  Japan,  the  London  Mission's  Hos- 
pital under  Dr.  Benjamin  Hobson,  (these  two  side  by 
side  upon  one  of  the  smaller  hills),  and  the  mercantile 
establishment  of  Messrs.  Jardine  and  Matheson  at 
East  Point,  European  buildings  were  few  and  inter- 
spersed promiscuously  with  mud  houses  and  mat 
sheds. 

The  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie  was  at  Macao.  Mr.  Low- 
rie,  like  Dr.  Hepburn,  had  been  originally  sent  to 
Singapore,  in  endeavoring  to  reach  which  port  his 
ship  struck  upon  a  shoal  in  the  China  Sea,  and  sev- 
eral of  the  crew  perished.  Mr.  Lowrie  and  twenty 
others  crowded  into  one  boat,  after  a  very  perilous 
experience  in  a  violent  storm,  finally  succeeded  in 


ARRIVAL  AT  HONG  KONG  65 

reaching  one  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  from  whence 
he  reached  Manila  in  an  open  boat,  and  thence  again 
reached  Hong  Kong.  There  he  heard  that  a  printer 
with  his  wife  was  being  sent  out  from  New  York, 
with  a  printing  press  and  a  font  of  moveable  type; 
and  that  a  medical  missionary,  with  whom  he  was 
instructed  to  proceed  to  Ningpo  and  commence  a  new 
mission  among  the  Chinese  of  that  region  was  to  come 
by  the  same  vessel.  It  was  the  practice  in  those  days 
to  rate  medical  missionaries,  missionaries'  wives,  mis- 
sionary printers,  farmers,  etc.,  as  assistant  mission- 
aries, and  to  put  their  names  at  the  foot  of  the  list  at 
any  station.  When  I  reached  China,  Mr.  Lowrie  was, 
as  I  have  said,  at  Macao  awaiting  our  arrival,  and 
was  residing  with  Mr.  S.  Wells  Williams. 

Hong  Kong  is  one  of  the  largest  of  a  group  of 
numerous  islands  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pearl 
River  (upon  which  is  situated  the  provincial  capital, 
Kwang-chow,  best  known  to  foreigners  by  the  Portu- 
guese pronunciation  of  Canton),  to  which  latter  place 
the  trade  between  the  maritime  nations  of  the  West 
and  the  Chinese  Empire  had  been  restricted  for  more 
than  200  years  The  Island  of  Hong  Kong  consists 
mainly  of  a  ridge  of  rocky  hills  culminating  in  six 
principal  peaks  rising  from  the  shores  of  the  bay  by 
steep  ascent  to  the  height  of  from  1000  to  1800  feet, 
and  intersected  by  narrow  fertile  ravines  and  valleys 
abounding  in  a  profusion  of  tropical  and  semi- 
tropical  trees  and  other  plants,  the  investigation  of 
which  for  many  years  afforded  abundant  materials 
for  the  labors  of  more  than  one  distinguished  botanist. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Lowrie  heard  of  our  arrival  at 


56  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Hong  Kong,  he  came  over  to  meet  and  welcome  us. 
We  had  been  spending  two  or  three  days  very  pleas- 
antly at  the  home  of  the  Rev.  Dyer  Ball,  M.D.,  of  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  with  whom  was  then  living  the  Rev. 
E.  C.  Bridgman,  D.D.,  of  the  same  Board.  We  had 
also  made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Legge,  of  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  and  his  wife,  the  Baptist 
missionaries,  and  the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  then  principal 
of  the  Morrison  Educational  Society's  school. 

Dr.  Legge  has  since  that  time  become  much  more 
widely  known  as  the  Professor  of  Chinese  in  the 
University  of  Oxford,  in  England,  and  as  the  trans- 
lator of  the  Chinese  Classics,  and  the  author  of  sev- 
eral learned  books.  Dr.  Ball  had  in  his  premises  a 
number  of  Chinese  type  cutters  and  printers,  and 
morning  prayers  were  conducted  in  Chinese,  which 
we  also  attended,  and  for  the  first  time  heard  the 
Chinese  language  spoken.  He  had  also  a  medical  dis- 
pensary, which  I  attended  with  much  interest.  We 
visited  the  markets,  saw  the  military  barracks  and 
public  buildings  which  were  unpretentious  and  even 
shabby. 


VI 
VISIT  TO  MACAO 

AS  soon  as  possible  after  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Lowrie^  we  had  our  trunks  and  boxes  tran- 
shipped from  the  "  Huntress  "  to  a  Chinese 
"  fast-boat,"  which  was  fitted  either  for  sailing  or  for 
being  propelled  by  sculling.  It  was  a  mild,  calm  night, 
and,  as  the  passage  between  the  islands  often  proved 
a  lurking  place  for  petty  pirates,  the  boatmen  kept  up 
their  sculling  incessantly  without  the  song  that  they 
generally  use  in  most  parts  of  China,  to  keep  time 
together.  For  the  same  reason  also,  Mr.  Lowrie,  Mr. 
Cole,  and  myself  kept  "  watch  "  turn  and  turn  about, 
through  the  night.  The  appearance  of  the  islands  in 
the  moonlight,  and  the  constant  ripple  of  the  tide 
against  the  sides  of  the  boat  were  very  pleasant  and 
soothing.  We  arrived  safely  at  Macao,  had  all  our 
belongings  passed  through  the  Portuguese  Custom 
House,  and  took  up  our  residence  with  Messrs.  Low- 
rie and  S.  Wells  Williams,  in  a  large  one-storied 
house  opposite  to  the  Custom  House,  surrounded  with 
a  beautiful  garden,  terraced  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  planted  with  luscious  tropical  fruits  and  fragrant 
trees.  The  next  morning,  although  the  breakfast  was 
simply  neat  and  nourishing,  we,  like  very  many  newly- 
arrived  missionaries,  were  disposed  to  feel  disap- 
pointed that  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  hardships 

S7 


58  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

in  the  missionary  life,  in  that  part  of  the  missionary 
field  at  least. 

Macao  is  a  Portuguese  settlement  dating  back  to 
A.  D.  1557,  situated  on  the  most  southwestern  extrem- 
ity of  the  large  island  of  Hiang-Shan,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Pearl  River,  about  forty  miles  west  of  Hong 
Kong.  The  settlement  is  a  walled  and  fortified  city, 
much  smaller  than  Hong  Kong,  and,  like  that  place, 
very  rocky.  It  was,  in  1844,  a  beautiful  place,  with 
picturesque  old  churches  and  convents,  beautiful  ter- 
raced gardens  filled  with  tropical  fruit  trees,  a  praya, 
or  plaza,  as  the  Spanish  call  it,  facing  the  sea,  and  a 
line  of  elegant  buildings,  recalling,  according  to  some 
travellers,  the  view  of  the  Bay  of  Naples.  At  the 
time  I  speak  of.  Hong  Kong  was  as  yet  too  rough  and 
unhealthy  a  place  for  f amihes  to  reside  in ;  and  ladies 
were  not  yet  permitted  to  live  in  Canton ;  so  that  the 
families  of  foreign  merchants  congregated  in  beauti- 
ful Macao ;  forming  a  most  delightful  society,  to 
which  Mr.  Lowrie  acted  as  pastor,  preaching  outside 
the  walls  of  the  city.  Close  by  was  the  foreign  ceme- 
tery, where  I  saw  the  slab  that  covers  the  remains  of 
Robert  Morrison,  the  first  Protestant  missionary  to 
China.  A  tall  cotton  tree  stretched  its  branches  over 
the  tomb,  and  had  almost  covered  it  with  its  handsome 
crimson  flowers.  The  graves  of  other  foreign  resi- 
dents who  had  died  in  Macao  were  in  the  same  en- 
closure. This  is  usual  in  Roman  Catholic  countries, 
with  regard  to  those  whom  they  consider  heretics.  I 
have  been  frequently  reminded  of  Heb.  xiii,  13,  that 
"  Jesus  suffered  without  the  gate.  Let  us  go  therefore 
unto  Him  without  the  camp,  bearing  His  reproach." 


VISIT  TO  MACAO  59 

Not  far  off,  also  without  the  walls,  was  the 
"  Lazar/'  or  leper  hospital,  where  I  embraced  the 
opportunity  to  study  that  terrible  disease,  which  is 
quite  common  in  Canton,  or  rather  in  its  neighbour- 
hood ;  for  the  lepers  live  quite  by  themselves.  There 
was  no  one  to  interpret  for  me,  and  so  I  could  not 
gain  as  much  information  from  the  sufferers  them- 
selves, as  if  I  had  understood  Portuguese  or  Canton- 
ese; but  I  spent  some  time  in  examining  the  disease 
in  all  the  different  stages  of  its  progress,  and  gained 
such  familiarity  with  its  appearances  as  enabled  me  to 
understand  it  better  than  I  could  otherwise  have  done 
from  what,  I  had  simply  read  upon  the  subject. 

On  enquiry  I  found  that  no  attempt  was  being  made 
to  do  missionary  work  among  the  large  Cantonese 
population  of  Macao.  I  suppose  it  would  not  have 
been  allowed  by  the  Portuguese  authorities.  The  Rev. 
William  Milne,  Dr.  Morrison's  first  colleague,  was 
not  allowed  to  remain  with  his  family  at  Macao,  and 
was  obliged  to  go  to  Malacca,  where  he  laboured  until 
his  death.  About  seventy  persons  were  baptized 
while  the  Mission  remained  at  Malacca,  of  whom 
three  or  four  became  preachers.  Two  or  three  of  Mr. 
Milne's  tracts,  such  as  "  The  Two  Friends,"  on  "  The 
Soul,"  and  a  "  Commentary  on  the  Ephesians,"  were 
excellent,  and  very  useful  to  us  during  the  early  days 
of  our  Mission,  after  the  opening  of  the  treaty  ports 
in  China,  in  1844-184,6.  The  Mission  was  removed 
to  Hong  Kong  in  1844.  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  not 
being  a  clergyman,  and  being  at  that  time  unmarried, 
was  allowed  to  live  in  Macao.  He  there  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  presence  of  a  number  of  shipwrecked 


60  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Japanese  who  had  been  brought  to  China,  and  whom 
Messrs.  Talbot,  Olyphant  and  Co.  attempted  unsuc- 
cessfully to  send  back  to  Japan  in  their  ship  the 
"  Morrison,"  to  acquire  some  knowledge  of  the  Japan- 
ese language;  and  between  Dr.  Williams  and  Dr. 
Gutzlaff  the  books  of  Genesis  and  Matthew  and  the 
Gospel  and  Epistles  of  John,  were  translated  into 
Japanese  for  their  instruction.  (See  Chinese  Mis- 
sionary Recorder  in  1876,  quoted  in  the  life  of  Peter 
Parker,  M.D.) 

The  rapid  development  of  Hong  Kong,  in  a  very 
few  years  drew  away  from  Macao  the  foreign  trade, 
as  well  as  the  foreign  families ;  and  the  place  after  a 
while  degenerated  into  the  headquarters  of  the  in- 
famous "  coolie  trade." 

The  "  Huntress  "  having  gone  up  to  Whampoa,  an 
anchorage  upon  the  Pearl  River,  several  miles  below 
the  city  of  Canton,  and  taken  in  a  cargo  of  tea  for 
New  York,  came  down  to  Macao,  and  anchored  in 
the  "  roads  "  for  a  few  hours.  The  Captain  came  on 
shore  in  his  gig,  and  finding  that  his  boat's  crew  were 
all  or  mostly  members  of  my  Bible  class  I  selected  a 
number  of  religious  works  and  put  their  names  in 
them  as  mementoes  of  our  voyage  together.  I  wanted 
to  send  one  also  to  "  Old  Bill."  I  asked  the  boys,  but 
they  knew  no  other  name  for  him  but  "  Old  Bill,"  or 
"  the  gunner,"  (because  he  had  only  one  eye,  having 
lost  the  other  we  knew  not  how)  ;  so  I  waited  until 
Captain  Lovett  came  down  to  the  boat,  and  then  asked, 
"  Captain,  what  is  Old  Bill's  name  ?  "  He  replied, 
"  His  name  is  William  P.  G .*     His  uncle  had 

*  See  page  43. 


VISIT  TO  MACAO  61 

spoken  of  him  to  me  as  a  "  young  man."  Doubtless 
he  was  younger  than  his  pious  uncle,  but  according  to 
his  own  account  he  had  led  a  very  adventurous  and 
rough  kind  of  life,  had  lost  one  eye,  and  had  a  very 
weather-beaten  appearance.  His  uncle  would  hardly 
have  recognized  him,  but  evidently  still  yearned  over 
and  prayed  for  him.  I  never  met  again  either  the 
uncle  or  the  nephew,  but  have  a  strong  hope  that  if 
they  ever  met,  they  would  be  able  to  rejoice  together 
in  a  good  hope  in  Christ. 

At  the  time  I  was  in  Macao  many  robberies  took 
place.  In  many  cases  the  robbers  were  supposed  to  be 
petty  pirates,  who  attacked  foreigners  who  were 
taking  their  evening  walk  on  the  campo  outside  of  the 
gate  of  the  city  towards  the  Bahia  da  Casilha,  and  by 
a  narrow  crooked  path  between  the  hills  to  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  Praya  Granda  on  the  sea-shore  of 
the  city.  The  robbers  or  pirates  were  sometimes  bold 
enough  to  come  into  Macao  itself  and  carry  off  sud- 
denly the  baggage  and  effects  of  foreigners  as  they 
landed  from  Hong  Kong.  This  happened  while  I 
was  in  Macao  to  General  D'Aguillar  (Commander  of 
H.  B.  M.'s  garrison  in  Hong  Kong) ,  and  his  daughter. 
Persons  taking  their  afternoon  walk  were  sometimes 
attacked  on  the  Camp,  and  if  they  seemed  likely  to 
offer  any  resistance,  were  blinded  by  having  fine  sand 
thrown  into  their  eyes,  and  then  being  plundered  of 
all  their  valuables  which  they  had  about  them. 

One  day  I  was  standing  looking  at  a  sailing  ship 
passing  towards  Canton,  when  I  saw  a  foreigner  com- 
ing towards  me  with  five  or  six  Chinese  at  a  short 
distance  from  him,  apparently  closing  in  upon  him. 


62  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

He  seemed  quite  agitated,  and  called  out  to  me,  "  I 
think  these  are  thieves,  intending  to  rob  us."  I  looked 
incredulous,  but  seeing  one  of  the  Chinese  stoop  down 
and  pick  up  a  handful  of  sand,  my  incredulity  was 
dissipated,  and  raising  my  heavy  ebony  cane,  I  aimed 
a  blow  at  one  of  the  robbers  who  seemed  to  be  closing 
in  upon  me.  I  struck  him  as  strong  a  blow  upon  the 
head  as  I  was  able,  and  felled  him  to  the  ground,  and 
ran ;  but  before  I  had  gone  many  steps,  two  of  them 
had  me  by  the  arms,  and  another  took  a  tight  twist 
in  my  black  silk  cravat,  while  my  first  adversary, 
having  picked  himself  up,  got  hold  of  my  ebony  stick, 
and  tried  to  get  it  out  of  my  hand;  but  as  I  held  on 
tightly,  he  took  my  hand  between  his  teeth,  and  bit  it 
hard.  Then  I  let  go  of  the  cane,  fully  expecting  that 
he  would  pay  me  back  perhaps  with  interest ;  but  the 
others  had  *'  gone  through  "  my  pockets,  taking  my 
watch,  and  what  money  I  had,  and  then  seeing  several 
foreigners  coming,  let  me  go,  and  ran  towards 
Mongha  (or  Wanghia),  a  small  village,  where  after- 
wards our  U.  S.  Commissioner,  the  Hon.  Caleb  Cush- 
ing,  negotiated  with  the  (Manchu)  Chinese  Commis- 
sioner, the  Treaty  of  Wanghia.  I  regretted  the  loss 
of  my  watch,  for  it  had  been  my  mother's,  and  I 
wished  also  that  they  had  left  me  my  weapon.  Other- 
wise it  was  not  a  sufficiently  unusual  occurrence  to 
produce  a  very  deep  or  lasting  impression  upon  me. 

Some  three  weeks  after  this,  one  damp,  drizzly 
evening,  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie,  Dr.  S.  Wells  Wil- 
liams, and  I  were  taking  our  evening  walk,  and  wind- 
ing our  way  over  the  rough  and  crooked  path  between 
the  Guia  Hill  and  the  next  one  to  it,  when  I,  who  was 


VISIT  TO  MACAO  63 

in  front,  saw  four  Chinese  coming  down  the  sides  of 
the  hill  towards  us.  I  turned  my  head  and  said  to 
my  two  companions,  "  This  is  the  gang  that  robbed 
me  the  other  day."  They  answered  not  a  word,  but 
we  kept  on  our  way.  In  fact  there  would  have  been 
no  use  to  do  anything  else,  as  the  robbers  were  above 
us,  and  could  have  "  headed  us  off  "  if  we  had  tried  to 
go  back.  They  came  down  towards  us,  and  one 
jumped  down  into  the  path  in  front  of  me,  then  an- 
other, and  another,  passing  to  the  rear.  Hearing  Mr. 
Lowrie  cry  out,  I  turned  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
when  I  saw  a  man  on  the  hill  above  me,  with  a  large 
stone  in  his  hands,  and  the  next  thing  that  I  was  con- 
scious was  that  I  was  on  my  back  on  the  ground,  with 
a  stout  Chinese  kneeling  on  my  chest,  and  filling  my 
eyes  with  powdered  water-tobacco.  I  made  one  effort 
to  throw  my  man  off,  but  he  forced  me  down  again, 
and  put  some  more  water-tobacco  into  my  eyes.  Then 
I  kept  quiet,  rather  wondering  what  next.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams and  I  had  no  canes ;  only  silk  umbrellas,  which 
the  thieves  carried  off.  Mr.  Lowrie  had  a  stick  and 
showed  fight,  ,and  was  beaten  and  badly  cut  about  the 
head.  Dr.  Williams  told  them,  in  the  Cantonese  dia- 
lect, that  he  had  nothing  with  him  but  his  eye-glass, 
and  they  seemed  to  take  his  word,  for  they  seized  his 
umbrella  and  left  him.  We  were  all  dressed  in  white 
American  drilling  jackets,  vests,  and  trousers,  which 
every  foreigner  wore  at  that  time  in  China.  Mr. 
Lowrie  and  I  had  our  clothes  smeared  with  blood  and 
dust,  and  being  unwilling  to  be  seen  in  that  pHght  in 
the  streets  of  Macao,  we  got  home  stealthily  by  a  back 
lane.     The  thieves  had  taken  my  bunch  of  keys,  so 


64  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

that  I  could  not  get  at  my  clean  clothes,  to  get  the 
suit  that  I  had  worn  the  day  before.  We  went  into 
the  dining-room  and  took  our  suppers  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cole,  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  Neither 
they,  nor  any  of  our  friends  in  the  United  States,  ever 
heard  of  these  adventures  for  quite  a  number  of  years. 

I  suffered  no  physical  inconvenience  from  my  first 
adventure  with  the  robbers  at  Macao,  but  the  Eng- 
lishman who  was  attacked  at  the  same  time,  was 
thrown  down  and  struggled  violently,  and  was  so  in- 
jured that  he  was  confined  to  his  lodgings  for  one  or 
two  weeks,  partly  from  the  nervous  shock,  and  partly 
from  an  inflammation  of  the  eyes  caused  by  the  fine 
sand  thrown  into  them  by  the  robbers.  The  blow 
which  I  received  from  the  large  stone  thrown  by  the 
robbers,  striking  me  upon  the  left  breast,  left  a  sore- 
ness there,  and  a  lameness  in  my  right  arm  for  two 
or  three  weeks. 

At  Macao  I  again  met  Dr.  Elishah  K.  Kane,  whom 
I  had  known  as  a  medical  student  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  I  dined  with  him  at  Macao  at  the 
house  of  another  Philadelphian  named  Silver.  Dr. 
Kane  was  then  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the  U.  S.  Navy, 
but  was  specially  attached  to  the  suite  of  our  Com- 
missioner, Mr.  Cushing,  and  came  out  with  him  in  the 
U.  S.  S.  "  Brandywine."  I  never  saw  him  again ;  but 
I  saw  the  articles  brought  back  from  his  Arctic  expe- 
dition, and  his  man  "  Morton  "  at  the  establishment 
of  Mr.  G.  W.  Childs,  the  publisher,  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1857. 


VII 
RETURN  TO  HONG  KONG 

SOON  after  my  second  adventure  in  Macao  I 
went  over  to  Hong  Kong  in  company  with  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Bridgman,  to  look  for  an  opportunity 
for  a  passage  to  the  north  of  China.  We  started  at 
about  sunset,  on  a  mild,  pleasant  evening.  The  bells 
of  the  San  Jose  College  were  chiming  Mozart's  air, 
which  we  know  familiarly  as  "  Away  with  Melan- 
choly," and  which  sounded  more  sweetly  than  I  have 
ever  heard  it  since  that  time.  Beautiful  Macao,  with 
its  pleasant  foreign  community,  made  up,  as  I  have 
said,  of  American  and  English  families,  who  used  to 
gather  on  one  of  the  gardens  or  prayas ;  the  garden  of 
the  Morques  family  in  which  was  the  grotto  known 
as  Camoens's  Cave;  the  luxurious  terraced  gardens; 
the  Portuguese  senoras  with  their  picturesque  man- 
tilla veils  or  head  dresses ;  the  sudden  standing  of  the 
people  when  they  heard  the  "  three  bells,"  and  the 
uncovering  of  the  head,  as  they  murmured  their  Ave 
Marias ;  the  procession  on  Good  Friday  in  which  the 
life-sized  image  of  Christ,  bowed  under  the  weight 
of  His  cross,  was  carried,  escorted  by  a  guard  of 
soldiers  with  arms  reversed,  and  followed  by  the 
Governor  and  members  of  the  Senate  of  Macao,  all 
bareheaded ;  and  on  Easter  morning,  the  loud  and  re- 
peated discharges  of  artillery  from  the  fort  upon  the 

65 


66  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

"  Monte,"  the  higher  of  the  three  hills  of  Macao,  all 
remain  distinct  memories  to  this  day.  (Sir  Andrew 
Ljungstedt,  a  "  philanthropic  Swede,"  published  in 
1836,  in  Boston,  U.  S.  A.,  "  An  Historical  Sketch  of 
the  Portuguese  Settlements  in  China.") 

On  reaching  Hong  Kong  without  any  contretemps, 
I  took  advantage  of  the  kind  offer  of  hospitality  of 
Dr.  S.  R.  Brown  and  made  my  home  with  himself 
and  family  until  I  left  for  Ningpo,  and  we  remained 
lifelong  friends.  The  Morrison  School,  over  which 
Mr.  Brown  presided,  was  situated  on  Morrison  Hill, 
and  Dr.  Hobson's  dispensary  and  his  dwelling  house 
were  just  beside  it.  On  an  adjoining  hill  was  a  police 
station,  which  was  a  judicious  precaution  against  rob- 
bers, who  sometimes  came  over  from  Kowloon  in  full 
force,  and  even  had  the  audacity  to  attack  and  plunder 
the  quarters  or  residences  of  some  of  H.  B.  M.'s  mili- 
tary officers.  They  were  driven  ofif  by  the  Sepoys  on 
guard  close  by,  with  the  loss  of  several  of  the  rob- 
bers. They  also  attacked  the  Morrison  School  Build- 
ing. Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  John  Robert  Morrison  took 
their  pistols  and  went  to  meet  them,  but  were  forced 
to  go  back  after  Mr.  Brown  had  received  two  spear 
wounds,  and,  with  the  family  and  guests,  took  refuge 
in  an  outhouse.  The  robbers  plundered  the  house, 
kindled  a  fire  upon  the  floor  in  one  of  the  rooms,  and 
went  off.  After  that  Mr.  Brown  provided  himself 
with  a  couple  of  double-barrelled  fowling  pieces,  and 
one  of  our  naval  commanders  gave  him  several  flint- 
lock muskets.  Owing  to  the  dampness  of  the  climate, 
it  was  necessary  frequently  to  draw  the  charges,  wipe- 
out,  and  re-load  our  guns.    I  slept  with  a  musket  at 


RETURN  TO  HONG  KONG  67 

the  head  of  my  bed.  One  night  Dr.  Brown  came  and 
called  me,  saying-  that  there  was  a  band  of  robbers  at 
the  water  side  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  there  might 
be  trouble.  I  dressed,  and,  taking  my  musket,  threw 
open  the  pan,  wiped  it  and  put  in  fresh  priming,  and 
then  went  out  into  the  parlor,  where  the  family  were 
assembled.  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Brown  that  he  and  I 
should  each  take  a  gun  and  go  out  and  reconnoitre; 
but  mindful,  I  suppose,  of  Mr.  Brown's  former  ex- 
perience, the  ladies  objected.  So  I  took  one  of  the 
double-barrelled  fowling  pieces  and  went  out  through 
the  school  building,  getting  one  of  the  eldest  scholars 
to  let  me  out,  and  charging  him  not  to  let  the  door  be 
opened  to  anyone  but  myself.  As  soon  as  I  turned 
round  the  corner  of  the  building,  a  number  of  men 
rose  up  from  the  edge  of  the  bank.  I  levelled  my  gun 
and  called  out  to  them  to  know  who  they  were,  and, 
from  their  replies,  discovered  that  they  were  carpen- 
ters, and  other  workmen  who  were  employed  in 
making  repairs  on  the  premises.  Mr.  Brown  had  told 
me  in  case  of  my  seeing  the  robbers,  to  fire  both  bar- 
rels and  call  the  pyolice  from  the  adjoining  hill.  As 
the  workmen  pointed  out  to  me  a  crowd  of  men  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  I  pulled  first  one  trigger  and  then 
the  other,  but  neither  charge  exploded.  I  accordingly 
ran  back  to  the  door  of  the  school,  which  was  op>ened 
by  Ah  Shing  (afterwards  the  Hon.  Hwang-shing, 
member  of  the  Hong  Kong  Municipal  Council,)  who 
took  another  gun  and  came  with  me;  and  as  he  also 
saw  the  suspicious  crowd  of  men  by  the  water  side, 
we  fired  two  guns  as  we  had  been  instructed  to  do. 
The  robbers,  as  they  turned  out  to  be,  immediately 


68  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ran  across  the  flat  towards  Matheson's  Point,  and 
were  out  of  sight  by  the  time  the  police  came  over. 
They  were  "  water  thieves,"  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
who,  being  pursued  by  the  water  police,  had  hoped  to 
escape  notice  in  the  nook  at  the  foot  of  Morrison  Hill. 
The  rest  of  the  time  of  my  stay  in  Hong  Kong 
passed  away  peacefully.  I  volunteered  to  teach  some 
classes  in  the  school.  Among  the  scholars  were  some 
who  afterwards  became  distinguished, — the  Hon. 
Hwang-shing,  the  Hon.  Yung- wing,  LL.D.  (Yale. 
College)  the  Hon.  Tung  King  Sang,  and  others.  I 
also  spent  some  time  in  frequently  visiting  Dr.  Hob- 
son's  hospital  on  Morrison  Hill,  and  Dr.  Dyer  Ball's 
dispensary  on  the  Queen's  Road  in  the  city  of 
Victoria. 


VIII 
HONG  KONG  TO  CHUSAN  AND  NINGPO 

ONE  day  I  heard  of  an  American  schooner,  the 
"  Eagle,"  and  engaged  a  passage  in  her  to 
Chusan,  but  it  was  a  long  time  before  she  had 
secured  a  cargo,  opium  being  the  principal  freight  at 
that  time,  and  it  was  generally  carried  by  the  "  opium 
schooners "  owned  by  the  old  established  business 
houses.  On  the  11th  of  June,  while  I  was  attending 
the  funeral  of  Mrs.  Dyer  Ball,  I  received  notice  that 
the  "  Eagle  "  would  sail  the  next  day  at  12  o'clock.  I 
bade  good-bye  to  my  good  friends  on  Morrison  Hill, 
and  was  on  board  the  "  Eagle  "  with  my  boxes,  in 
good  time,  and  we  got  out  of  the  Lyeemoon  passage 
that  same  evening  into  the  China  Sea. 

The  next  morning  it  was  rainy  and  rough,  and  the 
majority  of  the  passengers  were  sea-sick.  Their 
names  were  the  Hon.  Don  Sinibaldo  de  Mas,  Com- 
missioner from  the  Government  of  Manila ;  an  Italian 
missionary,  who  could  speak  no  English,  but  who, 
although  very  sea-sick  during  the  whole  passage,  was 
very  courteous  and  appreciative  of  any  attention  or 
sympathy ;  two  very  wild  young  Americans,  who  had 
probably  been  advised  to  take  a  voyage  "  for  their 
health  "  (i.  e.,  to  keep  them  out  of  mischief)  ;  and  a 
Chinese  whom  I  found  the  next  day  reading  his  brevi- 
ary.   I  was  immediately  interested  in  him,  because  I 

69 


70  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

had  never  seen  a  Chinese  who  could  read  Latin.  We 
soon  got  acquainted  and  were  able  to  speak  together 
in  Latin.  He  told  me  that  he  was  returning  to  China, 
after  having  spent  a  number  of  years  in  study  at 
Naples.  (I  suppose  in  the  school  established  by 
Father  Ripa  in  a.  d.  1733.*)  When  I  told  him  that  I 
was  not  a  clergyman  he  could  not  comprehend  how  it 
was  that  I  understood  Latin,  until  I  told  him  that  I 
was  an  M.  D.  Then  he  understood  and  said,  "  All 
doctors  understand  Latin." 

On  the  evening  of  the  18th  of  June  we  anchored 
off  Buffalo's  Nose,  some  distance  below  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor  of  Tinghai  (Dinghai,  in  the  court  dia- 
lect), unusually  known  to  foreigners  as  "  Chusan 
Harbor." 

There  are  several  large  islands  forming  a  chain 
from  the  south  of  the  River  Yung  to  the  eastward,  of 
which  the  largest  is  Tinghai,  or  Chusan,  which  was 
occupied  by  the  British  forces  until  1846.  The  most 
easterly  of  these  islands  is  Putoo  (or  colloquially 
Poodoo),  a  beautiful  and  romantic  island,  containing 
very  many  Buddhist  temples,  some  of  them  covered 
with  roofs  of  handsome  porcelain  tiles  of  various 
colors,  and  inhabited  only  by  Buddhist  monks,  to  the 
number  of  from  500  to  800.  It  is  traversed  in  all 
directions  by  broad  walks  paved  with  broad  slabs  of 
stone.  A  high  peak  in  the  centre  of  the  island  is 
called    Butsu-ting-san  t    (or   the   Hill   of    Buddha's 


*  See  Memoirs  of  Father  Ripa;  Wiley  and  Putnam, 
New  York,  1846. 

t  Kwan  Shin-in,  or  Kwannon,  in  Japanese,  the  Chinese 
femlinine   incarnation   of   Avalokitesvara,    who   refrained 


HONG  KONG  TO  CHUSAN  AND  NINGPO  71 

Crown,  or  Cranium).  There  is  no  land  east  of  Puto 
until  one  reaches  the  islands  of  Japan.  It  has  a 
beautiful,  white,  sandy  beach,  and  on  the  face  of  a 
smooth  cliff  which  faces  the  sea,  is  sculptured  in 
large  Chinese  characters — "  Once  arrived  at  yonder 
shore."  I  have  often  stood  on  the  top  of  this  cliff 
looking  out  over  the  blue  sea  without  a  limit  or  shore, 
meditating  upon  the  appropriateness  of  the  inscrip- 
tion to  express  the  unsatisfied  longing  of  the  devout 
Buddhist  after  a  restful  immortality.  Tinghai  (or 
Chusan)  and  Poodoo  (or  Putoo)  were  the  principal 
sanitary  resorts  of  the  missionary  invalids  in  those 
days ;  but  they  were  hardly  satisfactory  on  account  of 
distance,  lack  of  supplies,  frequent  rough  weather, 
and  the  occasional  visits  to  those  parts  of  the  Canton- 
ese pirates. 

There  is  also  a  small  harbor,  called  by  foreigners 
Lookong,  where,  while  foreign  vessels  selling  opium 
were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  Treaty  Ports,  two  Eng- 
lish opium  vessels  were  stationed.  The  adjacent 
island,  called  by  foreigners  Silver  Island,  is  next  in 
size  to  Chusan,  of  the  group  of  islands  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Chusan  group,  and  within  ten  miles  of 
Chinhai.  It  is  a  picturesque  island,  and  has  pleasant 
walks,  and  quite  a  number  of  villages  inhabited  by 


from  entering  Nirvana  in  order  to  listen  to  the  prayers 
of  mortals  in  this  world,  is  said  by  the  priests  and  others 
to  have  ascended  to  heaven  from  this  island.  On  the 
rocks  in  various  parts  of  the  island,  there  are  quite  a 
number  of  inscriptions  in  Chinese,  Nepalese  and  Thibetan 
characters,  some  of  them  recording  pilgrimages  made  to 
the  island  from  distant  parts  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 


72  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

fishermen  and  their  families.  Some  of  Commodore 
Perry's  squadron  (particularly  the  "  Plymouth ") 
used  to  lie  at  anchor  at  Lookong,  for  a  week  at  a  time ; 
and  some  of  the  missionaries  used  to  go  there  with 
their  families  during  the  hot  weather;  but  as  they 
were  obliged  to  live  in  small  luggers,  they  only  spent  a 
few  days  at  a  time  there.  In  a  few  years,  the  mission- 
aries were  not  restricted  as  they  formerly  were,  and 
several  of  the  missions  built  houses  among  the  hills, 
where  they  spent  the  summer  with  their  families. 

The  islands  in  the  lower  part  of  the  group  where  we 
anchored  looked  beautifully  fresh  and  green,  contrast- 
ing very  agreeably  with  the  barren  coast  scenery  near 
Hong  Kong. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  we  engaged  a  native 
pilot;  and  about  11  a.  m.  cast  anchor  in  Chusan 
harbor,  and  I  lost  no  time  in  getting  on  shore  and 
presenting  my  letters  of  introduction. 

Chusan  is  a  large,  fertile  island  upon  which  is  the 
large  walled  city  of  Tinghai;  and  scattered  over  the 
island  are  eighteen  thickly-populated  villages.  It  has 
a  splendid  harbor  in  which  were  lying  at  anchor  when 
I  entered  it,  several  British  men-of-war.  One  of 
them  was,  if  I  remember  correctly,  a  large,  old' 
fashioned  three  decker,  or  "  74."  The  island  was  one 
of  the  two  held  by  the  British  troops,  consisting  of 
European  soldiers,  and  East  Indian  Sepoys,  as  a  ma- 
terial guarantee  for  the  payment  by  the  Chinese  to 
Great  Britain  of  the  large  indemnity  exacted  for  the 
purpose  of  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  so-called 
"  Opium  War."  The  military  magistrate  of  the  island 
was  Capt.  Bamfield,  of  the  Hon.  East  India  Com- 


HONG  KONG  TO  CHUSAN  AND  NINGPO  73 

pany's  Service,  a  pious  man  to  whom  I  had  a  note  of 
introduction.  He  received  me  very  courteously,  and 
invited  me  to  dinner,  where  I  met  a  number  of  mili- 
tary officers,  some  of  them  pious  men,  and  the  harbor 
master,  a  British  master  in  the  navy,  who  kindly  char- 
tered a  small  Chinese  junk  to  take  me  to  Ningpo, 
some  seventy  or  eighty  miles  distant.  I  then  called 
upon  Miss  Aldersey,  a  wealthy  English  lady  who  had 
been  laboring  in  Java,  and  was  now  living  (with  a 
young  adopted  child.  Miss  Leisk,  afterwards  the  wife 
of  Bishop  Russel,  of  Ningpo,  and  two  Christian  Indo- 
Chinese  girls  who  had  followed  her  from  Batavia),  in 
the  Chinese  family  in  the  middle  of  the  cantonment. 
Miss  Aldersey  at  once  took  me  to  see  some  patients  in 
whom  she  was  interested  and  a  few  months  after- 
wards came  to  Ningpo,  where  for  sixteen  years  she 
labored  in  harmony  with  our  mission,  conducting,  at 
her  own  expense,  a  large  boarding  school  for  Chinese 
girls. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  day  after  reaching 
Chusan,  I  laid  in  a  supply  of  baker's  bread,  eggs,  and 
rice  for  my  journey,  got  my  baggage  and  boxes  from 
the  "  Eagle "  stowed  on  board  the  junk  (or  "  lug- 
ger ")  which  Harbor  Master  Stead  had  engaged  for 
me,  and  started  for  Ningpo.  The  wind  was  light,  but 
as  the  scenery  among  the  islands  of  the  Chusan  group 
was  new  to  me,  I  was  not  impatient,  and  when  we 
entered  the  Yung  River  at  Chinhai,  and  came  to 
anchor,  I  did  not  know  what  the  object  was  of  our 
waiting  several  hours,  but  I  suppose  that  we  must 
have  been  too  late  in  starting,  and  that  when  we 
reached  Chinhai,  the  flood  tide  was  already  spent,  or 


74  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

nearly  so,  and  that  we  had  to  wait  until  the  next 
flood-tide  commenced  to  flow  before  we  could  sail  up 
the  river  to  Ningpo.  I  did  not  go  on  shore  at  Chinhai, 
as  I  had  no  one  to  act  as  guide  or  interpreter  for  me. 
Jt  was  almost  nightfall  when  we  got  up  anchor;  and 
not  knowing  how  long  it  would  be  before  we  should 
reach  our  destination,  I  lay  down  and  fell  asleep,  and 
did  not  wake  up  until  the  Chinese  Custom  House 
Officers  at  Ningpo  came  to  examine  the  junk's  cargo. 
I  then  found  that  the  junk  was  made  fast  to  a  jetty  or 
landing  place,  where  now  stands  a  monument  erected 
by  the  French  to  commemorate  the  part  taken  by  them 
in  the  re-capture  of  Ningpo  from  the  "  Long  Haired 
Rebels,"  or  "  T'aipings,"  in  1861,  and  close  to  the  new 
floating  bridge,  or  bridge  of  boats. 


IX 
NINGPO 

NINGPO  is  situated  in  the  Province  of  Cheh- 
kiang,  and  lies  in  the  forks  of  a  river,  in  Lat. 
29  degrees  55  minutes  north.  Like  almost  all 
the  cities  of  any  size,  it  is  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
miles  from  the  sea.  Chinhai,  which  lies  at  the  mouth 
of  the  River  Yung,  and  is  only  a  city  of  the  third 
rank,  is  an  exception,  probably  because  it  is  well  forti- 
fied and  capable  of  preventing  piratical  invasions, 
which  had  to  be  guarded  against  two  hundred  years 
ago.  There  is  a  fort  upon  the  summit  of  the  hill 
which  is  called  Chao-pao-san,  which  was  carried  by 
assault  by  the  British  forces  in  1841. 

The  River  Yung,*  which  leads  up  to  Ningpo,  a 
distance  of  about  twelve  nautical  miles,  is  formed  by 
the  confluence  of  two  rivers,  one  from  the  northeast, 
which  is  again  divided,  one  branch  leading  from  the 


*  Rivers  in  China  are  not  generally  known  by  a  single 
name,  but  are  known,  in  different  parts  of  their  course, 
by  the  name  of  the  district  through  which  they  flow. 
The  Hoang-ho,  or  Yellow  River,  is  designated  by  that 
name  in  Imperial  Proclamation,  and  sometimes  as  simply 
the  Ho.  The  Yangtsz  is  designated  the  Kiang  or 
Ta-kian  (the  Great  River),  but  as  a  rule,  their  names 
differ  in  different  parts  of  their  course.  The  majority  of 
people  do  not  know  the  river  of  Ningpo  by  the  name 
Yung. 

75 


76  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

city  of  Tsz'k'i,  the  other  coming  from  the  city  of 
Yuyao;  and  the  other  river  from  the  southeast,  on 
which  is  the  city  of  Fung-hwa.  The  river  at  Chinhai 
is  widened  so  as  to  make  a  very  commodious  bay  or 
harbor,  which  is  generally  crowded  with  native  craft 
of  various  sizes.  Large  foreign  ships  are  obliged  to 
lie  here,  because  of  insufficient  depth  of  water  above 
Chinhai.  Ningpo  is,  therepore,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Tsz'k'i  and  Funghwa  branches.  There  are  two  pon- 
toon bridges  which  can  be  opened  for  junks  to  pass. 
One  of  these  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  and  dates 
from  several  hundred  years  ago.  The  other,  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  city,  is  of  not  more  than  a 
hundred  years'  standing.  The  City  of  Ningpo 
used  to  contain  about  three  hundred  thousand  peo- 
ple, and  had  populous  suburbs  containing  from 
50,000  to  75,000  more.  Canals  lead  from  the  city, 
and  from  the  suburbs  on  the  southeast,  and  in  every 
direction. 

I  wanted  to  go  first  to  the  British  Consulate  in  order 
to  deliver  to  the  Consul  some  letters  that  had  been 
entrusted  to  me  by  the  British  authorities  at  Tinghai 
(Chusan),  but  nobody  seemed  to  know  Mr.  Thomas 
English  name,  and  I  had  never  heard  his  Chinese 
name;  (which  was  Lopat  Tong;  i.  e.,  Robert  Thom). 
After  a  while,  a  boatman  made  signs  to  me  to  come 
with  him ;  and  he  took  me  to  what  I  recognized  as  the 
British  Consulate,  by  the  British  flag. 

Mr.  Thom  received  me  very  kindly  and  hospitably, 
and  invited  me  to  stay  with  him  until  I  could  find  a 
house,  and  I  remained  with  him  about  ten  days,  when 
by  the  assistance  of  one  of  his  Cantonese  servants,  I 


NINGPO  77 

secured  a  small  house  situated  at  the  end  of  a  lane, 
and  enclosed  by  a  high  wall. 

There  were  no  glazed  sashes  in  the  windows,  nor 
any  ceiling  overhead  to  break  the  force  of  the  heat 
which  came  from  the  tiled  roof  into  the  room  below ; 
so  that  it  was  not  until  daybreak  that  I  succeeded  in 
getting  an  hour  or  so  of  sleep,  upon  a  mattress  laid 
upon  the  pavement  in  the  yard.  During  the  night  I 
listened  to  the  beating  of  the  watches  by  the  patrol 
upon  the  city  walls,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river ; 
to  the  noise  made  by  the  junk-men  getting  up  anchor, 
at  each  change  of  the  tide ;  to  the  booming  of  the  bell 
of  a  large  Buddhist  monastery,  calling  the  monks  to 
their  matins ;  the  cry  of  the  night  herons,  and  the  caw- 
ing of  the  crows,  as  they  flew  to  find  their  morning 
food.  I  finally  fell  asleep  until  the  morning  sun 
aroused  me,  and  the  heat  recommenced. 

One  of  Mr.  Thom's  Cantonese  servants  who  could 
speak  "pidgin  English"  recommended  to  me  a 
Ningpo  man,  who  knew  a  very  little  about  cooking; 
and  I  commenced  housekeeping.  Mr.  Thom's  Can- 
tonese servant  gave  a  few  directions  to  the  Ningpo 
servant,  and  I  afterwards  asked  the  latter  the  names 
in  the  Ningpo  dialect  of  the  things  he  bought  for  me. 
This  was  the  commencement  of  my  study  of  the 
Ningpo  dialect  of  the  Chinese  language. 

Before  leaving  Hong  Kong  one  of  the  boys  in  the 
Morrison  School  had  written  out  for  me  a  few  sen- 
tences in  the  Chinese  written  characters,  which  I  in- 
tended to  make  use  of  at  first,  in  attempting  to  speak 
to  the  Chinese  at  Ningpo,  but  as  the  pronunciation 
of  the  Chinese  characters  at  Hong  Kong  is  very  differ- 


78  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ent  from  the  pronunciation  in  Ningpo,  it  was  in  many 
cases  only  by  showing  the  Ningpo  people  the  written 
characters,  that  I  could  make  them  uderstand  my 
meaning.  But  from  some  of  the  Ningpo  people,  I  got 
their  pronunciation  of  the  characters,  and  sometimes 
they  would  substitute  a  Ningpo  colloquial  phrase  for 
oijie  of  those  which  had  been  given  me  by  the  school- 
boy at  Hong  Kong.  Sometimes  I  turned  up  the  chap- 
ter and  verse  in  the  Chinese  version  of  the  New 
Testament,  where  a  phrase  of  similar  meaning  oc- 
curred, and  showed  it  to  a  Ningpo  man,  who  would 
generally  be  able  to  guess  what  I  wanted  to  say,  and 
to  give  me  the  equivalent  in  the  Ningpo  dialect ;  but  I 
could  not  conveniently  take  the  New  Testament,  or  a 
Morrison's  Dictionary  with  me,  or  make  use  of  them 
when  visiting  a  patient,  or  when  attempting  to  buy 
anything.  Nevertheless,  by  the  time  that  Messrs. 
Lowrie,  Loomis,  and  Culbertson  reached  Ningpo,  I 
had  written  out  and  copied  a  vocabulary  which 
they  thought  very  convenient  and  useful.  I  after- 
wards enlarged  this,  by  the  aid  of  some  dialogues 
written  in  the  Mandarin,  or  official  dialect,  by  Dr. 
Medhurst. 

I  usually  went  across  the  ferry  every  afternoon  for 
a  walk  with  two  of  Mr.  Thom's  consular  assistants ; 
one  of  them  was  Mr.  M.  C.  Morrison,  then  about 
eighteen  years  old,  with  whom  I  afterwards  kept  up 
an  unbroken  friendship  until  he  went  home  to  Eng- 
land to  die,  some  twenty  years  afterwards.  He  was 
the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Morrison,  who 
was  the  first  Protestant  missionary  in  China,  and  who 
had  been  the  guest  of  my  maternal  grandfather,  Divie 


NINGPO  79 

Bethune,  of  New  York,  when  Dr.  Morrison  was  on 
his  way  to  China  in  1808. 

Mr.  Thorn  always  remained  friendly  until  his  death 
in  1846.  I  became  sufficiently  intimate  with  him  to 
speak  to  him  earnestly  about  eternal  things,  and  gave 
him  a  copy  of  Hodge's  "  Way  of  Life  " ;  but  the  in- 
consistent conduct  of  so  many  who  professed  and 
called  themselves  Christians,  had  filled  him  with  dis- 
trust in  the  religious  professions  of  any  of  them. 
When  he  realized  that  he  could  hardly  expect  to  sur- 
vive until  the  arrival  of  another  consul  to  relieve  him, 
he  asked  me  to  see  that  his  two  little  children  should 
be  sent  to  the  care  of  a  friend  in  Shanghai.  I  im- 
mediately sent  the  children  and  their  nurse  to  Shang- 
hai in  charge  of  my  Chinese  teacher,  and  he  seemed 
thankful  and  satisfied  when  I  was  able  to  tell  him  that 
my  teacher  had  returned,  and  that  the  children  were 
safe  in  the  care  of  his  friend  at  Shanghai.  When  the 
new  Consul  arrived,  Mr.  Thom  was  barely  able  to 
recognize  him.  I  was  the  only  one  with  him  when 
he  died. 


FIRST  TRIP  INTO  THE  COUNTRY  AND 
RETURN  TO  CHUSAN 

I  HAD  not  been  many  days  in  my  own  house, 
when  I  became  quite  sick  from  the  heat,  and  the 
bad  drinking-  water.  I  had  never  drunk  tea  at 
home,  and  arriving-  at  Ningpo  after  the  rainy  season 
was  over,  I  had  no  way  of  getting  a  supply  of  rain 
water.  Thinking  that  a  change  might  do  me  good  I 
accepted  an  invitation  to  accompany  an  officer  of  the 
Hon.  East  India  Company's  army,  on  a  trip  to  the 
country.  We  carried  our  own  bedding  and  provis- 
ions, excepting  rice,  and  everything  in  the  country 
being  new,  I  enjoyed  the  the  scenery,  and  the  rice 
fields  watered  by  wooden  chain  pumps  worked  gener- 
ally by  the  water  buffaloes.  The  canals  extended  in 
every  direction,  and  our  boats  were  drawn  up  to  the 
top  of  the  embankment  by  means  of  rude  capstans  or 
windlasses,  around  which  were  wound  large  ropes, 
loops  of  which  were  passed  over  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
slowly  pulling  it  until  it  reached  the  top  of  the  incline. 
The  loops  were  then  cast  off,  and  the  boat  was  al- 
lowed to  slide  down  the  other  side  of  the  embank- 
ment into  the  river  like  a  toboggan.  In  some  places 
the  ropes  were  pulled  by  buffaloes,  instead  of  by  men 
with  capstans.  One  part  of  the  canal  was  fed  by  a 
large  artificial  lake  or  reservoir,  some  two  miles  long, 

80 


FIRST  TRIP  INTO  THE  COUNTRY       81 

and  perhaps  half  a  mile  wide.  The  sluices  are  opened 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  so  as  to  keep  the 
canals  navigable  and  sufficiently  full  of  water  to  sup- 
ply the  chain  pumps,  which  require  to  be  kept  working 
in  order  to  keep  the  roots  of  the  paddy  or  growing 
rice  constantly  covered  with  water,  until  it  is  suf- 
ficiently ripe  for  being  harvested. 

We  spent  a  part  of  the  day  and  the  following  night 
— of  the  4th  of  July,  1844, — at  Tien-dong-sz,  or 
Temple  of  the  Heavenly  Youth, — a  large  Buddhist 
monastery  inhabited  by  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred Buddhist  monks.  I  slept  in  a  room  containing  a 
life-sized  image  of  Kwanshin  (called  Kwannon  in 
Japan)  frequently  called  by  foreigners  the  "  Goddess 
of  Mercy."  A  monk  in  his  official  robes  came  in 
during  the  night  and  lighting  a  candle  and  some  sticks 
of  incense  in  front  of  the  idol,  tinkled  his  bell  and 
offered  his  prayers.  I  was  very  much  interested,  as  it 
was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  seen  Buddhist  worship. 

We  returned  to  Ningpo  after  an  absence  of  three 
days.  I  afterwards  went  with  the  military  officer, 
and  his  Sepoy  servant,  to  visit  the  Mohammedan 
Mosque  in  the  city  of  Ningpo.  Two  hundred  years 
ago  there  were  several  Mohammedan  mosques  and 
Jewish  synagogues  in  this  city,  but  they  had  all  disap- 
peared but  this  one.  The  mufti  could  read  Arabic, 
and  conducted  service  for  such  of  his  co-religionists 
as  came  to  the  mosque  on  Fridays,  but  the  attendance, 
I  learned,  was  not  very  large,  nor  very  regular.  We 
conversed  with  the  mufti  through  the  Sepoy,  who  was 
also  a  Mohammedan,  and  who  knew  enough  of  Arabic 
to  be  able  to  act  as  an  interpreter.    I  kept  up  my  ac- 


82  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

quaintance  with  the  mufti  for  many  years  afterwards, 
and  learned  from  him  a  good  deal  about  the  religious 
views  and  practices  of  the  Mohammedans,  and  of  the 
Jews  in  China.  He  said  the  latter  were  very  little 
different  from  the  Mohammedan,  each  sect  keeping  a 
holy  day  once  a  week  (the  Mohammedans  Friday,  the 
Jews  Saturday)  ;  each  wearing  a  turban  when  en- 
gaged in  worship,  (the  Mohammedans  a  white,  and 
the  Jews  a  blue  one)  ;  each  having  the  cows  or  oxen 
which  they  were  allowed  to  kill  in  winter,  (as  the  re- 
ligions of  both  of  them  forbade  them  to  eat  swine's 
flesh  like  other  Chinese) ,  bled  to  death  by  the  rabbi  or 
mufti ;  repeating  a  religious  formula  before  using  the 
knife,  and  both  sects  circumcising  their  male  children ; 
and  refusing  to  worship  idols,  or  to  eat  with  idolators. 
The  Mohammedans  also  refrain  from  using  wine. 

Being  still  very  much  depressed  and  worn  out  with 
sickness,  I  returned  to  Chusan  in  August.  While 
there,  I  occupied  the  upper  part  of  a  two-storied 
house  inside  the  city,  belonging  to  two  brothers,  who 
with  their  wives  and  two  little  children  occupied  the 
lower  story.  They  allowed  me  to  use  the  lower  (cen- 
tral) room  for  my  prescribing  room,  they  themselves 
using  it  when  they  worshipped  heaven,  earth,  the 
Emperor,  their  ancestors,  and  teachers.  Every 
Chinese  family,  whose  circumstances  are  not  of  the 
very  poorest,  has  a  room  of  this  kind,  which  is  also 
used  as  a  reception  room.  It  has  front  doors  which 
are  removed  upon  ceremonial  occasions,  and  the  floor 
is  of  earth  only,  so  that  the  worship  of  heaven  and 
earth  may  be  unobstructed.  There  is  a  shrine  placed 
near  the  ceiling  in  the  back  part  of  the  room,  in 


FIRST  TRIP  INTO  THE  COUNTRY       83 

which  the  tablets  dedicated  to  the  ancestors  of  the 
family  are  placed.  In  case  of  weddings,  some  one  of 
the  family  kneels  down  in  front  of  the  shrine,  and 
announces  the  wedding  to  the  ancestors,  informing 
them  of  the  bride's  name,  and  of  her  being  received 
into  the  family. 

I  used  to  have  my  servant  bring  me  a  cup  of  tea  at 
gun  fire  in  the  morning,  and  then  I  went  with  him  to 
market,  quite  as  much  to  pick  up  words  and  phrases 
as  to  do  any  marketing ;  and  as  soon  as  the  people  of 
the  city  and  neighbouring  villages  found  that  I  would 
prescribe  for  surgical  ailments,  etc.,  they  came  quite 
regularly  every  forenoon  except  Sunday,  and  I  ac- 
quired words  quite  rapidly.  The  dialect  differed  only 
slightly  from  that  of  Ningpo,  so  that  there  was  very 
little  labour  lost  in  learning  it. 

Not  far  from  my  house  there  lived  a  Colonel  Stew- 
art and  his  wife.  He  belonged  to  the  Hon.  East  India 
Company's  forces,  and  they  were,  both  of  them,  warm 
Christians.  Capt.  Bamfield,  the  military  magistrate, 
and  his  wife,  were  also  earnest  Christians.  There 
were  also  three  or  four  Christians  among  the  Com- 
pany's troops,  and  a  Lieut.  Eliot,  of  H.  B.  M.'s  18th 
Royal  Irish,  all  of  whom  attended  service  on  Sunday, 
and  prayer  meeting  once  a  week  at  the  house  of 
Colonel  Stewart. 

Lt.  Col.  Campbell,  "  The  Brigadier,"  as  he  was 
called,  or  commander-in-chief  of  the  post,  was  quite 
willing  to  grant  to  these  good  people  any  facilities  for 
keeping  up  religious  services,  being  well  pleased  by 
the  exemplary  conduct  of  the  pious  soldiers.  Some- 
times, when  troubled  by  the  necessity  of  inflicting 


84  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

punishment  upon  the  other  European  soldiers,  he  lost 
his  temper,  and  expressed  the  wish  that  they  would  all 
turn  "  Methodists."  The  Eighteenth  Royal  Irish  were 
a  very  fine-looking  regiment,  but  cases  of  intemper- 
ance were  very  frequent  among  them.  I  have  several 
times  seen  the  chevrons  stripped  from  the  sleeves  of 
a  sergeant,  or  corporal,  for  drunkenness. 

The  army  surgeon,  Dr.  Maxwell,  was  a  scientific 
man,  and  very  friendly ;  I  learned  much  from  what  he 
told  me  of  his  long  experience  in  India  and  China. 

A  French  Roman  Catholic  missionary  named  Dani- 
court  was  paid  to  act  as  chaplain  to  the  Royal  Irish, 
who  were  almost  all  Roman  Catholics.  He  much 
preferred  Americans  to  Englishmen.  I  frequently 
met  him  at  the  house  of  my  friend  Bates,  of  the  firm 
of  Wolcott,  Bates,  and  Co.,  and  we  were  on  friendly 
terms. 

Bishop  Levaisier,  who  preceded  M.  Danicourt,  I 
attended,  and  became  much  attached  to  him.  After 
some  years  he  was  brought  back  to  Ningpo  to  die; 
and  M.  Danicourt  became  Roman  Catholic  bishop  at 
Ningpo.  During  his  administration,  I  used  to  attend 
his  missionaries,  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  I  have 
several  times  dined  with  him  at  the  French  Mission, 
where  I  met  the  celebrated  Abbe  Hue,  author  of 
"  Travels  in  Mongolia  and  Thibet,"  and  other  works. 
He  often  visited  me  and  corresponded  with  me. 

Of  all  those  whom  I  have  mentioned,  I  do  not 
know  of  one  survivor.  The  *'  Brigadier,"  who  had 
served  in  the  war  of  the  Spanish  peninsula,  where 
he  led  a  forlorn  hope  at  the  siege  of  Badajos,  which 
was  taken  by  Wellington  in  1812,  and  became  the 


FIRST  TRIP  INTO  THE  COUNTRY       85 

deliverer  of  Havelock  and  the  other  Europeans  at 
Lucknow  during  the  mutiny  of  the  Sepoys  in  India 
in  1857,  was  made  Sir  Colin  Campbell,  and  after- 
wards Lord  Clyde,  for  his  valuable  services  in  the 
war  of  the  Crimea.  I  have  heard  that  some  time 
before  his  death  he  read  a  great  deal  of  Wilberforce's 
works. 

Col.  Stewart's  tomb  is  on  the  Island  of  Chusan. 
Capt.  Bamfield  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Chillian- 
walla,  in  India.  Lt.  Eliot,  who  often  spoke  to  me  of 
his  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  a  Christian  choosing 
the  military  profession,  some  time  afterwards,  as  I 
heard,  resigned  or  sold  his  commission. 

Until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Way  I  was  quite 
alone  in  my  missionary  work;  but  the  time  I  spent  in 
Chusan  I  still  look  back  upon  as  a  very  happy  period 
of  my  missionary  life.  The  quarters  of  the  European 
troops,  and  the  hospital,  were  situated  outside  of  the 
city,  between  it  and  the  beach,  or  "bund."  The 
Sepoy  troops  occupied  the  inside  of  the  city,  the  gates 
of  which  were  guarded  by  Sepoy  sentinels.  Some  ten 
years  afterwards,  I  went  ashore  at  Tinghai,  and  going 
to  Col.  Stewart's  grave,  found  it  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation.  Tinghai  seemed  lonely,  and  in  turning 
around  the  corner  of  the  hills  and  the  city  streets,  I 
missed  the  swarthy  faces  of  the  Sepoy  sentinels.  The 
place  no  longer  seemed  like  home. 

In  September,  1844,  the  U.  S.  S.  "St.  Louis" 
came  to  Chusan.  She  was  at  Hong  Kong  when  I  left 
that  port,  and  I  had  called  on  board  to  see  one  of  the 
lieutenants,  Montgomery  Hunt,  U.  S.  N.,  who  was  an 
old  friend  of  mine,  and  whose  friends  I  had  seen  in 


86  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

the  United  States  since  he  had  left  there.  The  Cap- 
tain, Mr.  McKeever,  U.  S.  N.,  was  properly  entitled 
to  command  a  larger  ship,  the  "  St.  Louis  "  being" 
only  a  corvette,  but  being  anxious  to  be  in  sea  service 
he  applied  for  and  had  been  appointed  to  this  vessel. 
After  a  few  days  Capt.  McKeever,  wishing  to  visit 
Ningpo,  spoke  to  me  on  the  subject,  and  finding  that 
the  "  St.  Louis  "  could  not  go  up  the  river  from 
Chinhai  to  Ningpo,  as  she  drew  too  much  water,  pre- 
ferred to  leave  his  ship  and  officers  and  crew  at 
Chusan,  where  they  would  have  a  healthy  climate, 
agreeable  foreign  society,  pleasant  walks,  etc.,  and  go 
with  a  party  to  visit  Ningpo.  He  asked  me  to  engage 
a  junk,  and  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements. 
The  party  consisted  of  Capt.  McKeever,  his  secretary, 
Mr.  Montellant,  the  surgeon.  Dr.  Laurason,  Lieut. 
Montgomery  Hunt,  and  Acting  Lieut.  George  Henry 
Preble.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  visit,  calling  on  H. 
B.  M.'s  Consul,  Robert  Thorn,  Esq.,  and  sending 
official  cards  to  the  Chinese  higher  officers.  We  spent 
one  iiight  in  the  house  I  had  formerly  occupied,  near 
the  British  Consulate,  and  visited  the  tower,  the  large 
confectioners,  silk  and  satin  shops,  etc.  One  of  the 
officers  went  with  me  to  call  upon  Miss  Aldersey,  and 
we  returned  to  Chusan,  reaching  the  "  St.  Louis " 
after  an  absence  of  thirty-six  hours,  and  a  very  en- 
joyable visit.  Lieut.  Hunt,  on  leaving  China,  made 
me  a  present  of  a  pair  of  pistols,  because  he  insisted 
that  it  was  not  safe  for  me  to  live  alone  among  the 
Chinese  unarmed.  I  never  had  occasion  to  draw  a 
pistol  upon  anyone  in  my  life.  Lieut.  Hunt  was  lost 
at  sea  in  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Albany,"  within  two  years. 


FIRST  TRIP  INTO  THE  COUNTRY       87 

After  Lieut.  Preble  became  Rear  Admiral  Preble,  U. 
S.  N.,  we  met  him  several  times  and  continued  to  cor- 
respond tog-ether  until  his  death. 

In  October,  1844,  Mr.  Wolcott  asked  me  to  go  with 
him  to  Ningpo,  in  order  that  he  might  visit  the 
Chinese  officials,  and  be  recognized  by  them  as  the 
United  States  Vice-Consul.  Accordingly  we  went  to 
Ningpo,  and  took  up  our  headquarters  in  a  large  two- 
storied  building  called  Moh-tien-zing.  I  introduced 
Mr.  Wolcott  to  Mr.  Thorn,  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul,  who 
very  courteously  gave  us  some  hints  as  to  how  we 
should  proceed,  and  sent  one  of  his  Cantonese  lin- 
guists to  interpret  for  us.  We  set  up  a  flagstaff  in 
front  of  the  Moh-tien-zing,  and  early  the  next  morn- 
ing, after  I  had  dressed  myself,  I  looked  out  of  the 
front  windows  and  saw  Mr.  Wolcott's  Chinese 
servant  binding  on  to  the  halyards  the  American  flag. 
I  immediately  went  down,  and  ran  it  up  myself,  for 
the  American  flag  had  never  before  been  hoisted  on 
the  mainland  north  of  Canton,  and  I  did  not  wish 
anyone  not  an  American  to  have  the  honor.  At  this 
time,  I  became  acquainted  with  a  bright  lad  of  thir- 
teen or  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  afterwards  became 
one  of  my  "  three  temple  boys  "  in  the  building  I 
rented  the  year  afterwards,  and  fitted  up  for  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cole,  and  the  Mission  Printing  Press. 


XI 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NINGPO 
MISSION 

WHILE  at  Ningpo  with  Mr.  Wolcott,  I  again 
rented  the  small  house  which  I  had  formerly 
occupied,  near  the  British  Consulate,  and  in 
November,  1844,  accompanied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Way 
and  their  family,  who  had  already  joined  me,  to- 
gether with  their  servant  Ahpoo,  and  my  teacher,  left 
Chusan  for  Ningpo.  We  left  Chusan  with  regret,  as 
it  was  a  healthy  place  with  a  pleasant  society  and  sur- 
rounding country ;  but  knowing  that  the  island  was  to 
be  retroceded  to  the  Chinese  as  soon  as  the  indemnity 
agreed  upon  in  the  Treaty  of  Ninking  was  completely 
paid,  and  that  Messrs.  Lowrie,  Loomis,  and  Culbert- 
son,  and  the  ladies,  Mrs.  Loomis  and  Mrs.  Cul- 
bertson,  would  probably  come  to  join  us  in  the 
spring,  we  thought  best  to  go  over  to  Ningpo  and 
be  ready  to  receive  them,  and  secure  for  them  perma- 
nent residences. 

The  Rev.  Messrs.  M.  S.  Culbertson  and  A.  W. 
Loomis  and  their  wives,  and  the  Revs.  A.  P.  Happer 
and  John  Lloyd  reached  Hong  Kong  on  Oct.  22nd, 
1844.  It  was  then  decided  that  Mr.  Lloyd  should  join 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  at  Amoy  (much  to  his  grief, 
for  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  being  associated  with 
his  friend  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie),  and  that  Messrs. 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  NINGPO  MISSION   89 

Culbertson  and  Loomis  and  their  wives,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  M.  Lowrie  should  go  to  Ningpo.  In  the  light  of 
Mr.  Lowrie's  former  attempt  *  it  v^as  thought  unad- 
visable  to  try  and  pass  through  the  Formosa  Channel 
during  the  winter  in  the  face  of  the  northerly  mon- 
soon, even  had  there  been  opportunity  to  do  so. 
There  were  no  steamers  on  the  coast  of  China  in 
those  days,  and  the  only  running  vessels  were  small 
"  opium  schooners,"  which  crept  along  the  coast 
selling  and  landing  opium  in  out  of  the  way  places ;  so 
that  Messrs.  Culbertson  and  Loomis  and  their  wives, 
in  company  with  D.  J.  McGowan,  M.D.,  and  his  wife, 
of  the  American  Baptist  Union,  only  reached  Chusan 
after  an  uncomfortable  and  stormy  voyage  of  thirty- 
eight  days.  Messrs.  Loomis  and  Culbertson  and  their 
wives,  reached  Ningpo  on  April  1st,  1845,  and  Mr. 
Lowrie  via  Shanghai  on  the  11th.  It  was  determined 
by  the  Ningpo  Mission  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loomis 
should  be  stationed  in  the  city  of  Tinghai  on  the 
Island  of  Chusan,  where  they  remained  until  the 
British  forces  were  withdrawn,  and  the  island  was 
given  back  to  the  Chinese  in  August,  1846. 

It  was  decided  that  a  boys'  boarding  school  should 
be  established,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Way,  and  that  I 
should  hand  over  my  hospital,  temporarily,  to  Dr. 
McGowan  in  order  to  give  such  assistance  to  Mr. 
Way  as  my  other  duties  would  permit,  and  to  take 
charge  of  the  necessary  building  and  business  opera- 
tions of  the  mission.  The  mission  directed  me  to  hold 
a  Sunday  service  in  Chinese  for  our  school  and  Miss 


*  See  page  54. 


90  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Aldersey's,  and  for  others.  This  was  kept  up  by  me 
faithfully  for  eleven  years.  It  consisted  in  reading 
the  Lord's  prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  a  portion 
of  the  Scriptures,  a  short  address  in  Chinese,  and  by 
degrees  some  singing  was  added.  For  some  years 
some  of  the  early  foreign  members  of  the  different 
missions  used  to  attend  this  service  to  get  terms  and 
phrases  to  be  used  in  preaching  to  the  Chinese.  We 
hardly  knew  how  to  translate  the  terms  for  God, 
Spirit,  heaven,  hell,  faith,  sin,  repentance,  forgive- 
ness, etc.,  and  it  used  to  cause  me  much  labor  to  get 
up  a  short  discourse.  I  then  found  a  series  of  short 
Chinese  tracts  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Medhurst  on  many  of 
these  subjects,  and  translated  them  into  the  Ningpo 
colloquial  for  my  own  use.  Afterwards  I  translated 
the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  tried  to  add  explanations 
and  exhortations. 

I  gave  up  my  cook,  a  middle  aged,  faithful  man, 
that  he  might  manage  the  feeding  and  immediate  over- 
sight of  the  scholars,  and  the  older  one  of  my  boy 
assistants  in  the  hospital,  was  taken  as  an  assistant 
teacher. 

Owing  to  family  reasons.  Dr.  McGowan  never  spent 
his  summers  at  Ningpo,  so  I  resumed  my  hospital 
operations  after  the  lapse  of  three  or  four  months, 
and  for  the  greater  part  of  my  residence  at  Ningpo, 
attended  the  missionary  and  mercantile  community. 

Our  Girls'  Boarding  School  was  commenced  by 
Mrs.  Cole  in  November,  1846.  The  first  two  scholars 
were  sisters,  the  younger  between  six  and  seven  years 
of  age.  The  older  sister  made  a  profession  of  faith 
in  Christ,  but  after  she  left  the  school,  she  was  mar- 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  NINGPO  MISSION   91 

ried,  and  during  the  T'aiping  Rebellion,  and  for  some 
years  afterwards,  we  could  hear  no  news  of  her. 
When  she  did  return  to  Ningpo  she  was  a  pitiable 
object,  emaciated  and  helpless.  Her  younger  sister 
took  her  into  her  own  house,  although  she  herself  had 
great  troubles,  owing  to  a  husband  who  had  made  a 
profession  of  Christianity  and  ran  well  for  a  few 
years,  but  finally  deserted  her  for  another  woman, 
only  coming  back  once  in  a  year  or  so,  to  extort 
money,  or  to  seize  and  sell  some  of  her  buffaloes, 
which  she  had  purchased,  and  whose  milk  she  sold  to 
foreigners.  She  brought  up  her  two  sons,  supported 
her  mother-in-law,  and  in  his  last  days,  her  unworthy 
husband,  and  is  now  living  in  Shanghai  with  her 
children  and  grandchildren.  She  has  adorned  her 
profession. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cole  left  Ningpo  in  1847,  the 
superintendence  of  the  printing  press  was  given  to 
Mr.  Loomis,  while  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  was 
given  to  Mrs.  Loomis,  under  whom  it  had  encourag- 
ing growth  and  progress.  When  the  latter  left  for 
the  United  States  in  1849,  the  Girls'  School  was  given 
into  the  charge  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rankin,  under  whom 
it  grew  and  flourished,  and  many  of  the  pupils  were 
received  into  the  Church.  But  before  this  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Loomis  had  become  very  much  broken  down  in 
health,  but  they  would  not  leave  unless  I  would  take 
charge  of  the  Press  and  the  School,  and  finally,  as 
there  was  no  one  else,  I  took  charge  of  both  in  addi- 
tion to  my  medical  duties,  until  the  arrival  of  Messrs. 
Wight  and  Rankin  and  their  wives.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wight  reached  Ningpo  in  July,  1849,  and  after  stay- 


92  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ing  a  few  days  came  over  to  my  house,  where  they 
remained  with  me  until  the  departure  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loomis.  At  that  time  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rankin  were 
detained  at  Amoy,  where  their  eldest  child  was  born. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coulter  came  up  from  the  coast  from 
Hong  Kong  in  a  Portuguese  lorcha,  which  called  at 
Amoy,  and  took  on  board  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rankin  and 
their  infant  daughter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coulter  took 
up  their  residence  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Way,  and  Mr. 
Coulter,  with  the  help  of  Mr.  Way,  relieved  me  of 
the  charge  of  the  Printing  Press.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Rankin,  who  had  come  to  live  with  me,  were  put  in 
charge  of  the  Girls'  Boarding  School.  I  remained 
with  them  long  enough  to  put  up  a  school  room  ad- 
joining the  house,  when  the  girls  were  transferred  to 
my  house,  and  I  moved  over  to  the  city,  and  hired  the 
house  formerly  occupied  by  the  Rev.  Walter  M.  Low- 
rie  and  described  in  his  journal. 

I  came  over,  however,  several  times  a  week  to  give 
any  assistance  in  my  power  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rankin, 
(they  being  such  recent  arrivals),  writing  out  phrases 
for  them,  interpreting,  and  so  forth.  This  continued 
until  Mr.  Rankin,  by  authorization  from  the  Board, 
built  a  dwelling  house  and  school  house  and  removed 
into  the  new  house  and  the  girls  were  transferred  to 
the  new  building. 


XII 
IN  THE  TAOIST  TEMPLE 

IN  December,  1844,  my  teacher  found  a  place  for 
me  in  the  Yiu-shing-kwan,  a  Taoist  monastery 
just  inside  the  North  gate  of  the  city  of  Ningpo, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  the  north  Bank 
(Kong-poh-ngen),  where  the  British  Consul,  and 
Miss  Aldersey,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Way  lived.  The 
abbott  and  his  monks  were  quite  willing  to  let  me 
have,  for  six  dollars  a  month,  a  room  in  one  of  the 
temples  under  their  charge,  with  the  use,  when  needed, 
of  another  room  for  receiving  patients.  This  par- 
ticular temple  was  called  the  Wen-chang-koh,  or  two- 
storied  temple  of  the  God  of  Literary  Elegance. 
This  idol,  with  the  next,  (named  Kwei-sing,  or  God 
of  the  North  Polar  Star,)  occupied  the  two  central 
rooms  fronting  the  paved  court,  on  two  sides  of  which 
were  six  beautiful,  fragrant,  olive  trees,  whose  flowers 
were  gathered  and  sold  for  scenting  tea. 

My  room  was  large  enough  for  my  worldly  pos- 
sessions, viz.:  two  trunks  of  clothing,  a  secretary 
bureau  which  I  was  advised  to  buy  at  Macao,  an  8  by 
10  inch  looking-glass,  a  rattan  couch  on  which  were 
a  hair  mattress  and  two  pillows,  a  student's  lamp, 
four  chairs,  and  a  set  of  rough  shelves  for  my  books 
and  medicines,  and  a  very  plain  cupboard.  The 
monks  lent  me  a  table  and  some  more  chairs.     My 

93 


94  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

cook,  teacher  and  three  pupils,  who  also  acted  as  my 
assistants  in  compounding  medicines  on  prescribing 
days  three  times  a  week,  and  who  studied  Chinese 
and  English  under  the  Chinese  teacher  and  myself, 
slept  in  a  small  room  or  passageway  leading  out  of 
my  living  room.  My  cutlery  consisted  of  six  each  of 
plain  knives  and  forks,  the  same  number  of  large  and 
small  pewter  spoons,  and  a  half  dozen  each  of  cups, 
saucers,  and  plates,  and  a  teapot.  My  cook  bought 
some  Chinese  cooking  utensils,  and  manipulated  them 
on  a  furnace  of  bricks.  My  bill  of  fare  was  boiled 
rice,  sweet  potatoes,  boiled  chestnuts,  boiled  bamboo 
sprouts,  goat  mutton,  or  by  way  of  variety,  a  fowl  or 
a  duck,  and  eggs.  As  a  substitute  for  bread,  I  had  a 
kind  of  steamed  rolls  used  by  the  Chinese  at  funeral 
feasts;  sometimes  I  had  a  kind  of  vermicelli,  and, 
when  in  season,  Chinese  dates,  oranges,  peanuts, 
peaches,  Crataegus  or  the  strawberry  fruit,  and  hard 
pears.  I  did  not  care  for  fish,  but  occasionally  had 
prawn  pr  shrimp.  The  pork  was  fat,  stringy,  and 
disagreeable.  There  was  no  beef  except  of  aged  or 
diseased  cattle,  but  the  Chinese  hams  were  fairly  good. 
I  had  no  butter  nor  milk,  but  did  not  appreciate  the 
absence  of  anything  except  bread. 

At  that  time  our  salaries  were  $480  (Mexican)  a 
year  for  unmarried  men,  and  $720  (Mex.)  yearly  for 
families,  with  an  allowance  of  $50  a  year  for  each 
child. 

As  a  matter  of  course  I  did  not  spend  much  money 
for  luxuries.  Out  of  my  salary  I  paid  for  my  own 
and  three  boys'  board,  and  gave  the  boys  Sunday 
gowns  and  shoes.    I  drew  five  dollars  a  month  for  the 


IN  THE  TAOIST  TEMPLE  95 

rent  of  my  house,  and  at  first,  ten  dollars  for  my 
teacher's  salary.  My  cook  received  three  dollars  a 
month  for  his  food,  but  I  paid  nothing  for  coal,  as  I 
had  no  stove  or  grate,  a  bottle  of  hot  water  at  night 
being  my  only  resource  for  artificial  heat.  The  second 
winter  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  use  the 
broken  stove  I  had  left  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Way ;  for 
whom  I  contrived  a  parlor  grate  and  a  sort  of  "  pie 
pan,"  or  Dutch  oven,  for  cooking. 

The  reason  why  we  lived  on  so  much  smaller  sal- 
aries was  that  we  lived,  of  necessity,  plainly,  as  also 
did  the  merchants  and  officers  at  Chusan.  Some  of 
us  had  lived  in  a  military  camp  where  carpets  and 
curtains  were  unknown.  It  was  only  at  the  remon- 
strance of  one  of  the  ladies,  who  could  not  keep  her 
dresses  from  being  soiled  by  contact  with  floors  and 
stairways,  that  we  got  the  Chinese  to  piece  together 
the  short  pieces  of  matting  which  they  used  to  sleep 
on,  and  covered  our  floors  with  them. 

Not  all  men's  consciences  or  tastes  are  alike,  nor 
can  all  be  equally  frugal.  Yet  in  my  opinion  it  is 
better  for  missionaries  to  live  in  small-sized  places, 
in  plain  houses,  away  from  the  temptations  to  indulge 
in  style  and  comparative  luxury.  In  those  days  es- 
pecially, a  large  proportion  of  the  funds  for  the  sup- 
port of  missionaries  came  in  small  sums  from  the 
savings  of  those  who  went  without  sugar,  tea,  or 
coifee,  or  denied  themselves  in  one  way  or  another  to 
"  send  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen  who  were  perish- 
ing " ;  and  I  have  never  felt  that  the  money  I  was  at 
liberty  to  draw  from  the  treasury  of  the  Board  was 
"  my  own,  to  do  with  as  I  liked  " ;  but  have  consid- 


96  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ered  it  as  money  appropriated  by  the  representatives 
of  the  Church,  whom  she  had  "  set  over  us,  to  give  us 
our  meat  in  due  season,"  and  that  all  in  excess  of 
what  was  necessary  for  health  and  efficiency  should 
be  applied  as  those  who  had  dedicated  it  would  wish. 

The  patients  were  numerous,  sometimes  as  many  as 
150  or  200  or  more  daily,  and  I  was  frequently  called 
to  prescribe  for  Chinese  at  their  homes,  or  resuscitate 
would-be  suicides  who  had  taken  opium,  which  was 
always  and  everywhere  to  be  had.  On  the  "  off  days," 
I  spent  some  time  in  visiting  the  iron  and  brass 
foundries,  and  the  candle-makers,  and  I  studied  some- 
thing of  their  botany,  materia  medica,  chemistry 
(such  as  it  was),  and  pharmacy.  Of  course  I  found 
much  that  was  absurd,  but  still  was  surprised  to  find 
how  well  they  succeeded  in  making  vermillion,  white 
lead,  and  calomel,  their  acquaintance  with  arsenic  in 
various  forms,  and  their  ability  to  make  an  accurate 
assay  of  gold  or  silver.  vSpecimens  sent  by  me,  with 
translations  of  the  formulae,  to  the  Academy  of  Nat- 
ural Sciences,  at  Philadelphia,  caused  quite  an  interest 
there. 

On  the  whole  I  was  about  as  busy,  and  as  happy  as 
I  have  been  for  almost  any  similar  length  of  time 
since  then.  In  all  my  movements,  a  kind  Providence 
favored  me,  and  a  much  more  able  and  experienced 
man  could  hardly  have  succeeded  better. 

Soon  after  I  had  moved  to  Ying-shing-kwan 
(Taoist)  temple,  an  officer  of  the  Taotai  (the  highest 
officer  below  the  Governor  of  the  province)  came  to 
enquire  what  I  was  doing  inside  the  walls  of  the  City 
of  Ningpo.    I  told  him  that  according  to  the  British 


IN  THE  TAOIST  TEMPLE  97 

and  American  Treaties  with  China,  foreigners  were 
allowed  to  live  at  Ningpo,  and  I  thought  that  as  to 
living  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  I  was  certainly 
borne  out  by  the  Treaty.  He  asked  me  why  I  did  not 
live  over  on  the  North  Bank,  near  the  British  Consul. 
I  replied  that  I  was  not  British,  but  American,  and 
not  under  the  British  Consul's  jurisdiction  nor  ob- 
liged to  follow  his  movements.  Finally  he  said,  "  Oh, 
well,  we  know  who  you  are  "  (he  was  present  when 
I  was  calling  with  the  U.  S.  Vice-Consul  upon  the 
Chinese  officials  a  couple  of  months  before)  "  and 
you  have  not  brought  a  family  with  you,  and  probably 
your  stay  will  not  be  long."  I  replied  that  the  length 
of  my  stay  might  possibly  be  short,  but  it  might,  on 
the  other  hand,  be  quite  a  long  one ; — that  I  could  not 
say.  He  left  me  in  a  friendly  humour,  and  from  time 
to  time  used  to  call  to  see  me  to  get  information  on 
different  subjects. 

The  Abbott-in-chief  of  the  Kwan,  (as  Taoist  mon- 
asteries are  called),  was  an  elderly  man,  over  sixty 
years  of  age,  of  a  somewhat  easily  ruffled  temper,  but 
we  always  managed  to  get  on  together  tolerably  well. 
He  made  no  opposition  to  my  putting  up  some  tracts 
where  not  only  my  patients,  but  even  the  literati,  who 
came  occasionally  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  images 
of  Wen-chang  and  Kwei-sing  (or  the  constellations 
of  Ursa  Major  and  the  circum-polar  stars,)  could 
read  them.  He  did  not  even  take  exception  to  the 
prohibition  of  image  worship  in  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, any  more  than  many  Christians  protest  against 
the  symbol  of  the  cross  in  their  churches.  He  seemed 
to  look  upon  it  as  a  peculiar  tenet  of  my  denomination. 


98  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

The  temple  next  to  the  one  I  lived  in  contained  a 
large  image,  perhaps  ten  feet  high,  over  whose  head 
was  a  motto,  but  no  name.  The  image  had  two  large 
figures  on  each  side,  as  his  satellites  or  attendants. 
The  principal  idol  was  a  symbol  of  the  genial  or  life- 
giving  influence  of  spring,  to  which  the  worshippers 
acknowledged  they  owed  gratitude  and  thanksgiving. 
The  four  satellites  were  furnished  with  pencils  and 
books,  and  were  explained  to  me  as  intended  to  re- 
mind human  beings  that  an  account  was  kept  of  all 
their  merits  and  demerits.  The  principal  image  was 
always  spoken  of  as  the  Tai-sui,  or  Great  Year.  In 
the  wings  of  the  Tai-sui  temple  were  sixty  images, 
each  one  representing  one  of  the  sixty  years  of  the 
cycle,  or  period  of  sixty  years,  according  to  the 
Chinese  method  of  reckoning  time.  The  temple  also 
contained  an  image  of  the  *'  plowing  ox,"  and  one  of 
the  "  herd  boy,"  who  leads  the  ox. 

The  interval  between  the  end  of  the  lunar  year,  and 
the  first  day  of  the  new  secular  year  is  like  a  holiday 
season,  corresponding  originally,  doubtless,  to  our 
Christmas  holidays.  The  officials  put  away  their  seals 
of  office ;  and  public  business  is  put  off  until  the  seals 
are  brought  out  again.  To  provide  for  important 
emergencies,  a  number  of  blank  official  forms  are 
stamped  (or  sealed),  ind  kept  in  reserve.  On  the 
month,  day,  hour,  and  quarter,  upon  which  the  sun 
commences  to  return  toward  the  north,  (the  winter 
solstice),  the  civil  officers  are  all  in  waiting,  and  a 
form  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  is  read,  while  the 
officers  kneel,  bow  their  heads,  and  make  offerings. 
On  the  day  before,  they  had  all  gone  in  procession  out 


IN  THE  TAOIST  TEMPLE  99 

of  the  South  gate  of  the  city,  to  "  meet  the  Spring," 
carrying  with  them  the  image  which  represented  the 
incoming  year  and  which  on  their  return  was  substi- 
tuted in  the  place  of  the  image  corresponding  to  the 
departed  year.  I  have  often  seen  a  man  kneeHng 
before  one  of  these  cycHcal  images,  apparently  giving 
thanks  for  prosperity  or  favor  received,  or  asking 
favor  of  the  power  represented  in  that  particular  year. 
Lighted  candles  and  incense  sticks  are  the  offerings 
placed  before  the  images. 

The  worship  of  the  stellar  deities  is  evidently  a 
survival  of  the  ancient  Nature  Worship,  (or  Sabsean- 
ism,)  which  seems  to  have  been  so  universally  preva- 
lent in  ancient  times.  The  sun  and  moon  are  still 
worshipped  by  the  Emperor  at  certain  times,  and  also 
on  the  occasion  of  a  solar  or  lunar  eclipse;  but  with 
reference  to  the  worship  of  other  objects,  I  do  not 
believe  that  they  are  always,  or  even  generally,  sup- 
posed to  be  personal  things,  or  conscious  of  the  wor- 
ship addressed  to  them.  The  idea  which  I  got  from 
conversing  with  some  sensible  people  was,  that  we 
ought  always  in  some  way  to  show  our  gratitude  for 
favors  received,  just  as  we  sometimes  carefully  cher- 
ish or  preserve  a  horse,  a  dog,  or  even  an  inanimate 
object  that  has  been  the  means  of  saving  our  lives, — 
or  as  we  Americans  venerate  and  preserve  the  old 
"  Ironsides  "  or  "  Hartford."  In  the  Ying-shing- 
kwan  temple  certainly,  the  idols  did  not  represent 
either  what  were  supposed  to  be  deities  actually  exist- 
ing, that  were  to  be  thanked,  or  demons  that  were  to 
be  propitiated.  I  found  in  Shang-tung  a  rubbing  of 
an   inscription    from  a   stone,   the  hand-writing   of 


100  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

which,  as  well  as  its  literary  composition,  was  by  a 
very  distinguished  literary  official,  who  commenced 
his  writing  by  pronouncing  the  idols  as  having  no  real 
existence,  but  ended  by  approving  of  idol  worship, 
for  reasons  which  he  gave,  i.  e.,  as  a  means  of  con- 
trolling the  people.* 

The  old  Abbott,  finding  in  the  Christian  tracts  I 
had  been  distributing,  the  term  Shang-ti,  (Ruler 
above,  or  Supreme  Ruler,)  carefully  read  the  tracts 
to  see  if  he  could  find  anything  in  them  about 
Shang-ti,  which  the  Taoist  monks  use  as  an  appella- 
tion for  one  or  more  of  their  idols,  and  notwithstand- 
ing my  explanations  and  disclaimers,  told  the  people 
that  I  was  a  worshipper  of  their  Shang-ti ;  and  on  the 
birthday  of  their  idol,  sent  me,  as  such,  a  special  invi- 
tation to  be  present  and  to  join  in  making  offerings. 

Of  the  younger  Taoist  monks,  two  or  three  were 
tolerably  intelligent  and  affable  young  men.  Each  of 
them  had  a  small  building,  or  at  least  a  room  to  him- 
self. One  of  them  played  on  the  guitar,  and  another 
was  fond  of  drawing.  They  used  to  bring  their  to- 
bacco pipes  in  the  evening,  and  became  very  friendly, 
with  my  teacher  and  myself.  I  learned  a  good  deal 
of  the  Ningpo  dialect,  manners,  customs,  and  legends 
from  them.  I  did  not,  at  this  time,  make  any  attempt 
to  master  the  Chinese  classics.  The  only  Chinese 
books  I  attempted  to  make  use  of  were  on  medicine, 
surgery,  and  materia  medica;  from  which  I  learned 
the  Chinese  nomenclature,  and  got  some  clue  to  their 


*  A  translation  of  this  paper  by  myself  will  be  found  in 
the  transactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  (1865). 


IN  THE  TAOIST  TEMPLE  101 

ideas  of  anatomy,  physiology,  and  therapeutics,  which 
I  thought  of  more  pressing  importance  to  me  than 
metaphysics.  So  I  deferred  the  study  of  the  "  Four 
Books"  and  "Five  Classics"  until  later — and  read 
instead  the  "  Trimetrical  Classic,"  a  school  book 
studied  by  Chinese  schoolboys,  to  which  I  added  a 
commentary. 

In  the  upper  story  of  the  Ying-shing-kwan  Tem- 
ple, when  I  first  came  there  to  live,  was  a  literary 
graduate  who  was  in  very  poor  pecuniary  circum- 
stances, and  who  was  trying  to  make  a  living  by 
"  coaching  "  students  to  enable  them  to  pass  the  trien- 
nial examinations  for  the  degree  of  siu-tsai  (which  is 
somewhat  like  our  degree  of  A.B.,  but  much  more 
difficult  to  attain,)  at  Ningpo  only  thirty  or  forty  out 
of  three  thousand  candidates  being  allowed  to  pass. 
Sometimes  men  commence  when  they  are  between 
fifteen  and  twenty  years  of  age,  and  persevere  until 
they  are  old  without  being  successful.  Once  while  I 
was  at  Ningpo  a  grandfather  and  his  grandson  were 
competitors  at  the  same  examination  and  the  grandson 
succeeded,  whilst  the  grandfather  failed  of  success, 
and  thereupon  gave  up  trying.  I  heard  of  a  case  of  a 
grandfather  and  grandson  both  being  successful  at  the 
same  examination.  In  the  examination  to  which  I 
first  referred,  not  one  of  the  poor  "  coach's  "  pupils 
was  successful,  and  he  was  so  dejected  by  his  ill  luck 
that  he  took  passage  in  a  Chinhai  junk,  and  half  way 
down  the  river,  leaped  overboard  to  drown  himself, 
but  his  fellow-passengers  rescued  him,  and  he  was 
brought  back  to  Ningpo.  A  subscription  was  taken 
up  for  his  relief,  and  I  also  spoke  to  Mr.  Thom,  who 


102  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

gave  him  the  Conversations  in  the  Chinese  text  of 
Concalvez,  "  Arte  China,"  to  copy.  The  two  British 
Consular  clerks  each  subscribed  for  a  copy,  as  I  also 
did.  I  found  these  Conversations  very  useful,  es- 
pecially after  I  got  the  Portuguese  text.  The  latter 
was  so  much  more  like  Latin  tha,n  even  Spanish  or 
Italian,  that  I  had  very  little  difficulty  in  translating 
the  Conversations,  and  whilst  doing  so,  acquired  quite 
a  goodly  number  of  phrases  in  Portuguese  as  well, 
which  afterwards  proved  useful  to  me  in  prescribing 
for  Portuguese  sailors,  and  in  my  intercourse  as 
United  States  Consul  with  the  Consul  of  Portugal. 
Through  this  poor  scholar  I  became  known  to  several 
of  the  literati  of  Ningpo,  who  ever  after  showed 
themselves  very  friendly  to  me. 


XIII 

VISIT  OF  COMMODORE  BIDDLE:  PORTU- 
GUESE PIRATES 

WHEN  I  was  living  in  the  Hai-mon-fong,  in 
1846,  one  morning  rising  early  and  looking 
out  on  the  river,  I  saw  a  small  junk  or  fish- 
ing smack  flying  the  American  flag.  Dressing  myself 
immediately  I  went  alongside  and  found  Commodore 
Biddle,  U.  S.  N.,  with  Lieut.  Strong,  U.  S.  N.,  and  a 
midshipman  whose  name  I  have  forgotten.  I  immedi- 
ately put  myself  under  Commodore  Biddle's  orders., 
calling  with  him  upon  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul,  who  invited 
us  all  to  dinner  to  meet  some  of  the  Hon.  East  India 
Company's  officers,  from  their  ship  "  Medusa."  The 
Commodore  enjoyed  himself,  and  greatly  interested 
the  company  by  narrating  how  he  was  captured 
when  he  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  "  Mosquito 
Fleet "  near  New  Orleans  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
other  of  his  adventures  at  that  time.  The  Hon. 
East  India  Company's  officers  took  to  him  very 
kindly,  and  when  he  went  on  board  the  "  Medusa  " 
they  hoisted  an  American  flag  and  fired  a  salute  in 
his  honour. 

The  Commodore  sent  for  his  servant  at  sunrise  the 
next  morning  to  take  him  to  see  the  old  pagoda,  or 
seven-storied  tower,  inside  of  the  city;  but  as  there 
were  so  many  stairs  to  go  up,  and  the  tower  had  a 

103 


104  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

"  list,"  like  the  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,  he  ordered 
his  servant  to  go  up.  John  went  up,  and  putting  his 
head  out  of  the  seventh  story  window  announced  to 
the  Commodore,  "  Got  up.  Sir."  ''  All  right,  John, 
come  down."  So  the  Commodore  "  did  "  the  tower. 
He  was  very  cordial  with  me  when  he  found  that  I 
was  a  Philadelphian,  and  knew  several  of  his  personal 
friends  in  that  city.  From  China  Commodore  Biddle 
went  over  to  Japan  and  anchored  for  some  days  at 
Nagasaki,  but  was  unable  to  accomplish  anything ;  in 
fact  was  insulted,  but  would  not  resent  the  insult  as 
it  deserved. 

During  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  my  experience 
in  China,  there  were  in  all,  I  think,  four  missionaries, 
two  of  whom  were  members  of  our  Mission,  killed 
by  pirates.  Several  were  beaten  and  others  had  nar- 
row escapes.  In  recent  years  the  number  of  foreign 
men-of-war  cruising  in  the  Chinese  waters  has  almost 
entirely  put  an  end  to  the  piracy  which  prevailed  fifty 
years  ago.  The  greater  part  of  the  pirates  were  from 
the  caste  called  "  Tanka,"  or  "Boat  People,"  who 
are  descendants  of  the  aborigines  of  southern  China 
that  lived  in  houses  or  boats  built  over  the  river  at 
Canton,  like  the  Swiss  lake  dwellings.  They  are  not 
allowed  to  intermarry  with  the  present  race  of  Can- 
tonese, and  differ  from  them  in  some  of  their  cus- 
toms and  religious  observances.  Some  of  the  Canton- 
ese pirates  had  fleets  of  swift  ships,  and  at  times 
there  were  sharp  encounters  with  Portuguese  lorchas, 
which  were  engaged  in  convoying  and  protecting  the 
fishing  fleets  among  the  islands  of  the  Chusan  group. 
On  one  of  the  pirate  fleets  captured  near  Chef  oo  by  a 


VISIT  OF  COMMODORE  BIDDLE        105 

British  man-of-war,  an  American  by  the  name  of 
Boggs  was  found.  He  was  tried  at  Hong  Kong  for 
piracy,  and  sentenced  to  transportation  for  a  long 
term  of  years.  I  came  very  near  having  a  serious 
adventure  between  Chusan  and  Ningpo.  I  had  gone 
to  Chusan  to  get  money  for  the  Mission,  and  was 
returning  in  a  Ningpo  junk  with  2,000  silver  rupees 
packed  in  a  claret  wine  box.  There  was  no  other  for- 
eigner in  the  boat,  and  the  captain  evidently  supposed 
the  box  to  contain  wine,  for  he  told  his  men  to  handle 
it  carefully  lest  they  should  break  some  of  the  bottles. 
Some  fifteen  miles  from  Chusan  Harbor  the  wind 
failed  us,  arid  my  junk,  as  well  as  several  others,  was 
becalmed,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  tides.  There  were 
many  pirates  about  in  those  years,  and  although  Mr. 
Lowrie  thought  that  they  would  not  dare  to  attack  a 
boat  carrying  a  foreigner  and  flying  a  foreign  flag 
(Memoirs  of  W.  M.  Lowrie,  p.  436),  his  own  sad 
death  at  the  hands  of  pirates  the  next  summer  showed 
that  he  was  mistaken.  Besides,  Mr.  Fortune,  the 
botanist,  had  been  attacked  some  months  before  this, 
but  being  well-armed,  shot  the  helmsman  of  the  pirate 
junk,  and  escaped.  I  had  asked  the  British  merchant 
at  Chusan,  from  whom  I  had  got  the  money,  if  he 
thought  it  would  be  safe  for  me  to  carry  so  much 
money  under  the  circumstances;  he  declined  to  give 
any  advice,  but  I  thought  I  would  run  the  risk. 
Pirates  did  come,  and  were  plundering  a  junk  near  us. 
My  boatmen  came  to  me  in  a  panic,  saying  that  the 
pirates  would  come  to  us  next.  I  gave  them  a  small 
American  flag  to  put  up.  The  captain  wanted  me  to 
fire  my  pistols  to  frighten  the  robbers,  but  I  told  him 


106  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

I  would  keep  my  powder  and  ball  until  the  pirates 
came  near  enough.  I  did  not  suppose  that  two  old- 
fashioned  pistols  (not  revolvers)  given  me  by  Lieut. 
Hunt,  of  the  U.  S.  S.  "  St.  Louis,"  would  avail  much 
against  thirty  or  forty  men  throwing  cobble  stones  at 
us,  until  they  had  driven  us  below  decks,  and  then 
stabbing  us  with  their  ugly  pikes.  So  I  determined  to 
use  my  pistols  in  a  different  way  if  the  pirates  came 
on  board,  and  so  make  a  short  struggle  of  it,  as  the 
idea  of  being  pierced  with  long,  narrow-bladed  spears 
was  very  much  worse  to  me  than  that  of  being  killed 
by  fire-arms.  A  light  breeze  sprang  up,  and  we  were 
overtaken  by  a  boat  from  Chusan  bound  to  Ningpo, 
with  foreigners  on  board,  one  of  them  a  post-office 
sergeant,  whom  I  knew,  with  despatches  for  H.  B. 
M.'s  Consul  at  Ningpo,  and  I  got  the  sergeant  to  take 
me  on  his  boat.  We  reached  Ningpo  about  2  a.  m. 
One  of  the  boatmen  carried  my  box  of  silver  for  me 
to  Mr.  Way's  door,  and  when  I  succeeded  in  awaken- 
ing someone  to  open  the  street  door  and  let  me  in  with 
my  money,  I  felt  as  though  a  load  had  been  taken  off 
my  own  shoulders.  Had  the  pirates  known  that  I  had 
2,000  rupees  of  silver  with  me,  my  chances  of  life 
would  not  have  been  worth  much,  as  the  sad  experi- 
ence of  my  friend,  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie,  proved 
about  twelve  months  afterwards. 

Crews  of  the  Portuguese  lorchas  gave  rise  to  much 
trouble  to  the  Mandarins  and  people.  I  had  pre- 
scribed for  a  number  of  them  and  performed  an  am- 
putation for  one  of  them,'  and  could  speak  Portuguese 
somewhat.  They  had  the  audacity  to  land  a  squad  of 
men,  and  attempt  to  rescue  a  native  in  their  employ, 


VISIT  OF  COMMODORE  BIDDLE        107 

who  had  been  concerned  in  forcibly  collecting  money 
upon  a  forged  document,  and  the  Chechien,  or  Mayor, 
of  the  city  sent  over  an  urgent  request  to  the  British 
Consul  and  myself  to  come  to  his  assistance.  The 
British  Consul  did  not  wish  to  get  involved,  and  ex- 
cused himself  on  the  ground  that  his  interpreter  was 
absent.  I  went  alone  in  a  plain  sedan,  and  met  the 
Portuguese  just  coming  out  of  the  gate  of  the  Mayor's 
office.  I  at  once  jumped  out  of  my  sedan,  and  con- 
fronted them,  remonstrating  with  them  against  such 
a  grave  offence  and  succeeding  in  getting  them  to 
allow  me  to  take  the  prisoner  back  with  me  to  the 
magistrate's  premises.  He  was  a  Manchu  Tartar,  and 
of  course  could  not  speak  the  Ningpo  colloquial,  but 
could  speak  the  Pekinese  dialect.  I  interpreted  and 
succeeded  in  getting  the  Portuguese  to  promise  to 
bring  the  principal  offender  and  hand  him  over,  if 
they  were  allowed  to  take  away  the  less  guilty  of- 
fender, who  was  their  servant.  The  Magistrate 
agreed  to  this,  if  I  thought  they  would  keep  their 
word,  and  so  by  my  advice,  he  released  the  prisoner. 
The  next  day  the  Portuguese  really  did  bring  the 
instigator  of  the  outrage,  and  he  was  punished 
accordingly. 

A  year  before  this  there  was  a  quarrel  between 
Portuguese  buccaneers  and  Cantonese  (professedly 
reformed)  pirates  in  the  river,  just  abreast  of  my 
house.  The  Cantonese  piratical  junks  had  been  got 
ready  for  action  and  unstopped  their  guns,  when  Mrs. 
McCartee,  (I  was  away  that  afternoon  until  sunset,) 
hoisted  the  American  flag,  which  put  a  temporary  stop 
to  the  proceedings,  and  brought  me  a  note  from  the 


108  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Cantonese  chief  saying  that  he  had  not  fired  his  great 
guns  for  fear  of  damaging  my  property,  but  that  the 
Portuguese  had  killed  one  of  his  men,  and  if  the 
murderers  were  not  delivered  up  by  the  Portuguese 
Consul  before  9  a.  m.  the  next  day  he  should  capture 
their  lorcha  by  boarding,  and  take  his  men,  but  would 
not  use  his  great  guns  and  so  injure  my  property. 
The  next  morning — Sunday — he  sent  me  word  that 
the  Portuguese  had  not  delivered  up  the  murderers, 
and  that  he  should  attack  the  lorcha  at  10  o'clock,  and 
he  requested  me  to  keep  all  Americans  in  doors.  It 
was  too  late  to  send  word  to  the  Americans,  as  they 
would  all  be  on  their  way  to  Church  already.  I  sent 
word,  however,  to  the  British  Consul  that  there  was 
going  to  be  a  fight,  and  that  I  was  going  on  board  the 
piratical  vessel,  and  he  hurried  down  and  went  with 
me.  The  pirates  were  getting  their  arms  in  order 
when  we  went  on  board,  but  were  civil  to  us.  We 
went  on  shore  again,  and  stood  on  my  upper  veranda 
to  see  the  fight.  The  pirates  got  out  their  largest 
junk,  propelled  by  ten  or  more  sweeps  on  each  side, 
guns  unstopped,  streamers  flying,  men  at  the  mast- 
head to  throw  "  stink-pots  "  (filled  with  a  suffocating 
mixture)  on  board  of  the  lorcha, — all  the  men  with 
red  turbans  and  sashes,  and  uttering  a  yell  at  each 
pull  of  the  sweeps.  The  Portuguese  were  fright- 
ened, and  taking  to  their  small  boat,  made  for  the 
shore.  The  pirates  then  dropped  anchor  and  fol- 
lowed them.  There  was  a  fight  on  shore  and  five  or 
six  wounded  and  two  killed.  As  soon  as  the  pirates 
got  back  to  their  junk,  I  went  on  board  and  at- 
tended to  the  wounded.     One  of  the  pirates  had  a 


VISIT  OF  COMMODORE  BIDDLE        109 

spent  small  shot  in  his  eye,  entering  behind  the  iris 
and  being  visible  through  the  pupil.  We  were  not 
molested. 

The  next  spring,  a  Portuguese  corvette,  the  "  Don 
Joan,"  and  about  twenty  lorchas  came  in  and  anchored 
in  a  line  between  us  and  the  city.     We  sent  to  the 
man-of-war's  commander  to  ask  his  intentions.     He 
assured  us  he  had  not  come  to  open  hostilities,  but  to 
discuss  with  the  Chinese  officials  the  trouble  of  the 
preceding  year.    What  was  our  surprise,  then,  when 
he  and  his   lorchas   commenced  firing  balls  at  the 
Chinese  vessels,  and  musketry  at  every  Chinese  who 
showed  himself.     Several  of  our  neighbours  and  ac- 
quaintances were  killed  before  our  eyes.     One  ball 
went  over  the  city  wall  half  a  mile,  entered  the  win- 
dow of  a  room  where  two  women  and  a  young  girl 
were  embroidering,  killing  the  young  girl  instantly.    I 
never  saw  such  a  disorderly  fight,  nor  such  confusion 
and  uproar  as  was  on  board  the  corvette.    That  after- 
noon, the  British  Consul  and  I  went  into  the  city,  and 
called  upon  the  Mandarins.    The  Portuguese  had  de- 
manded several  thousand  dollars  ransom.    The  British 
Consul  was  very  much  excited,  and  promised  that  a 
man-or-war  should  be  brought  down  from  Shanghai 
to  interfere  and  settle  matters.     Sir  John  Bowring, 
the  Governor  of  Hong  Kong,  and  our  Minister,  the 
Hon.  Louis  McLane,  were  both  at  Shanghai  at  the 
time.     I  wrote  to  Mr.  McLane,  who  advised  me  to 
tender  my  friendly  offices  as  mediator ;  but  neither  of 
the  plenipotentiaries  wanted  to  meddle,  or  had  power 
to  send  a  man-of-war.    I  had  already  told  the  Taotai 
that  I  knew  that  our  United  States  Minister  would 


110  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

be  glad  to  do  all  in  his  power,  but  I  could  not  promise 
a  man-of-war. 

The  next  morning  a  boat  with  a  number  of  officers 
from  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Powhatan  "  arrived  at  my  house. 
One  had  a  despatch  from  Captain  McCluney,  U.  S. 
N.,  addressed  to  me.  I  sent  a  reply  giving  a  state- 
ment of  our  affairs;  one  of  the  officers  took  my 
reply  at  once  to  Chinhai,  where  the  "  Powhatan " 
lay  (drawing  too  much  water  to  get  up  the  river), 
and  by  sunset  a  launch  with  a  field  piece  and  a 
force  of  sixteen  men  arrived.  Mrs.  McCartee  was 
sick  in  bed  with  a  fever,  and  could  not  understand  the 
tramp  of  the  sixteen  men,  nor  the  clank  of  their  pieces 
upon  the  pavement  under  the  window,  but  I  had  to 
leave  her  alone,  and  was  almost  at  my  wits'  end  to 
provide  quarters  and  provisions  for  the  men  and 
officers. 

The  result  of  this  opportune  visit  was  to  make  the 
Portuguese  take  their  vessels  out  of  our  branch  of  the 
river,  and  greatly  diminish  their  prestige,  while  it 
greatly  increased  our  (American)  prestige  and  popu- 
larity. When  the  warlike  matters  had  been  peacefully 
settled,  we  had  a  pleasant  visit  from  the  officers,  and 
the  men  had  a  holiday  on  shore,  the  only  casualty  be- 
ing the  death  of  one  seaman  by  sunstroke.  Of  course 
we  showed  our  sympathy,  and  gave  our  aid  to  the 
families  of  our  poor  neighbors,  who  had  been  killed 
on  account  of  the  quarrel  of  pirates  and  free-booters, 
in  which  they  had  no  interest;  but  as  the  Ningpo 
people,  who  were  a  peaceful  and  amiable  set,  said,  if 
there  ever  happened  to  be  a  row,  the  Ningpo  people 
were  always  the  "  slice  in  the  sandwich." 


XIV 
CONSULAR  EXPERIENCES  AT  NINGPO 

HITHERTO  I  had  never  formally  taken  the 
style  and  title  of  consular  officer,  never  used 
an  official  card  or  title,  nor  an  official  sedan 
chair,  although  I  was  acting  as  United  States  Vice- 
Consul  for  Ningpo,  and  our  consuls  at  the  other  ports 
addressed  me,  and  sent  business  to  me  as  such.  I  had 
a  United  States  flag  in  my  house,  but  had  never  put 
up  a  flag-staff.  The  consular  business  was  only  oc- 
casional, although  there  were  several  important  cases. 
At  one  time  several  Chinese  hoisted  an  imitation  of 
the  American  flag,  and  with  a  false  sailing  letter  ob- 
tained through  an  American  citizen  at  Shanghai,  tried 
to  enter  their  luggers  as  American  vessels.  I  did  not 
hesitate  to  take  away  their  flags  and  confiscate  their 
registers,  which  I  sent  to  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioner, the  Hon.  Humphrey  Marshal.  Then  "  beach- 
combers," who  had  broken  into  a  Chinese  money 
changer's  shop,  severely  wounding  some  of  the  shop 
people,  when  the  British  Consul  arrested  them, 
claimed  to  be  American  citizens,  though  from  their 
speech  and  their  answers  to  my  questions,  it  was 
quite  evident  to  me  that  they  were  not  Americans.  I 
sentenced  them  to  thirteen  months'  imprisonment,  and 
to  pay  the  costs  of  court,  but  was  obliged  to  get  from 
the  British  Consul  permission  to  keep  them  over  night 

111 


112  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

in  H.  B.  M.'s  consular  prison.  The  next  morning 
they  were  gone,  having  succeeded  in  getting  out  of 
the  British  gaol,  and  were  never  seen  again  in  Ningpo. 
Another  case  was  that  of  a  man  who  had  run  away 
with  a  Chinese  lugger  from  Shanghai.  The  United 
States  Consul  at  Shanghai  sent  down  a  deputy  mar- 
shal with  a  warrant,  which  I  endorsed,  and  told  the 
deputy  marshal  where  he  would  be  likely  to  find  the 
man  he  wanted.  He  went,  and  on  his  return  reported 
to  me  that  the  man  was  armed,  and  resisted  arrest.  I 
put  on  my  cap  and  went  to  the  sailors'  drinking  saloon 
with  the  deputy  marshal,  who  pointed  out  to  me  the 
offender.  I  said,  to  the  marshal,  "  Produce  your  war- 
rant," which  he  did.  "  Well,  arrest  him."  He  stepped 
forward,  but  the  culprit  drew  a  large  knife.  I  im- 
mediately sprang  between  them  and,  grasping  the 
offender  by  both  arms,  told  him  sternly,  "  Don't  be  a 
fool.  This  will  go  against  you.  Give  me  that  knife." 
He  looked  me  in  the  eyes  for  a  moment,  and  then  in  a 
subdued  tone  of  voice  said,  "  I'll  give  you  the  knife, 
Sir."  I  took  the  knife  and  handed  it  to  the  deputy 
marshal,  from  whom  I  took  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  and 
put  them  on  the  prisoner's  wrists.  He  shed  tears,  but 
made  no  resistance,  and  was  then  marched  with  the 
deputy  marshal  to  the  latter's  boat,  and  started  for 
Shanghai.  Before  the  United  States  Consul  at  Shang- 
hai, the  accused  proved,  by  the  admission  of  the 
Chinese  owner,  that  the  latter  had  taken  oath  before 
the  Consul  that  he  had  sold  and  received  the  money 
for  the  lugger,  in  order  to  get  an  American  sailing 
letter  for  her  in  the  name  of  the  sailing  captain ;  but 
after  this  had  been  done,  the  captain  drove  the  un- 


CONSULAR  EXPERIENCES  AT  NINGPO  113 

fortunate  owner  off  the  lugger  and  took  possession  of 
the  boat.  Of  course  the  ConsuFs  decision  was  against 
the  Chinese  on  his  own  testimony.  The  "  captain," 
two  or  three  weeks  later,  called  at  my  place  at  Ningpo 
and  left  a  basket  of  live  pheasants  for  me,  with  his 
compliments. 

Some  other  cases  far  more  sad  also  came  under  my 
cognizance.  One  was  a  bright  but  wicked  young  m^an, 
who  deserted  his  ship  at  Shanghai,  and  after  a  short 
but  vicious  course  became  very  ill.  The  Chinese,  who 
are  superstitious  and  afraid  of  having  the  ghost  of  a 
stranger  haunting  their  houses,  turned  him  out  into 
the  streets  to  die.  Dr.  Parker,  a  Scotch  medical  mis- 
sionary, took  him  into  his  hospital,  and  he  and  the 
other  missionaries  prayed  with  him  and  tried  to  do 
him  good  spiritually.  Finding  him  getting  near  his 
end,  they  sent  for  me  in  my  official  capacity.  As  soon 
as  the  young  man  saw  me  enter  the  door  of  his  ward, 
he  said  earnestly,  "  Doctor,  is  this  death  ?  "  I  an- 
swered, "  Charles,  you  are  very  ill,  and  if  you  have 
anything  to  tell  me,  you  had  better  do  so  now."  I 
had  a  long  conversation  with  him,  and  he  told  me  of 
his  (deceased)  mother,  of  his  sisters,  and  grand- 
mother, who  from  his  own  account,  seemed  to  have 
been  a  pious  family.  Before  I  left  him,  he  asked  me 
to  pray  with  him.  I  answered,  "  No,  Charles,  the 
missionaries  have  counselled  you  and  prayed  with  you. 
You  must  knock  at  the  door  yourself,  and  must  not 
rely  upon  the  prayers  of  others  to  save  you."  I  told 
him  that  he  knew  that  it  was  "  a  faithful  saying  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners" ; 
he  added  "  of  whom  I  am  chief."    I  bade  him  good- 


lU  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

bye  and  the  next  morning  when  I  went  to  the  hos- 
pital he  was  dead.  I  cut  off  a  lock  of  his  hair  and 
put  it  into  a  Bible  that  one  of  the  missionaries  had 
given  him.  I  buried  him  in  our  Mission  burial 
ground  and  wrote  officially  to  his  uncle,  a  reputable 
merchant  in  New  York.  When,  a  year  afterwards, 
I  was  in  New  York,  I  called  upon  Charles's  uncle, 
and  gave  him  the  Bible  and  lock  of  hair.  The  grand- 
mother was  anxious  to  see  me  and  talk  about  her 
grandson,  but  I  knew  that  it  would  afford  her  no 
comfort,  and  it  would  have  been  more  than  I  could 
stand. 

I  knew  of  another  sad  case — ^that  of  a  young  man 
who  had  a  pious  mother  and  relatives  in  the  United 
States.  He  was  sentenced  by  the  United  States  Con- 
sul to  a  term  of  imprisonment  in  the  consular  gaol. 
He  was  sick,  and  I  went  to  see  him,  and  then  told  the 
consul  that  the  prisoner  would  probably  not  live  more 
than  two  weeks ;  and  suggested  that  he  be  allowed  to 
come  out  of  prison,  and  board  at  the  house  of  the 
United  States  Marshal  and  be  in  his  charge.  When 
first  committed  to  prison  he  wrote  to  his  mother  not 
to  be  anxious  about  him,  as  he  had  secured  a  situation 
under  the  United  States  Government!  After  his 
death,  one  of  the  missionaries  wrote  a  sympathizing 
letter  to  the  young  man's  mother,  but  received  no 
reply,  except  through  the  Consul,  to  whom  a  clergy- 
man wrote,  asking  who  this  missionary  was,  and  what 
he  had  done  with  the  property  which  the  young  man 
must  have  died  possessed  of,  since  he  had  been  in  the 
employ  of  the  United  States  Government!  There 
were  other  cases  of  runaway  sailors  in  dire  need, 


CONSULAR  EXPERIENCES  AT  NINGPO  115 

some  of  whom  requited  the  kindness  shown  them  by 
robbing  their  benefactors. 

One  day  I  received  a  note  from  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul, 
telling  me  that  seventeen  foreigners,  in  small  vessels 
under  the  British  flag,  had  been  levying  blackmail 
from  Chinese  fishing  boats,  and  had  burned  a  Chinese 
village.  They  had  been  captured  by  one  of  H.  B. 
M.'s  men-of-war,  and  brought  into  port,  but  as  neither 
he  himself, — although  he  had  been  for  several  years 
a  resident  at  Ningpo, — could  speak  the  colloquial  dia- 
lect, nor  could  his  interpreter,  he  asked  me  as  a  favor 
that  I  would  act  as  interpreter  in  the  case.  These 
lawless  fellows  had  done  so  much  of  this  blackmail 
and  piracy  that  all  of  the,  foreign  residents  were  very 
glad  that  so  many  of  them  had  been  captured  and 
brought  to  trial.  The  British  Consul  and  I  were  old 
friends,  as  I  had  attended  his  family  as  physician,  so 
that  it  would  have  been  hard  for  me  to  decline;  es- 
pecially as  he  said  it  would  only  take  one  afternoon. 
It  took,  I  think,  five  days ;  and  towards  noon  on  the 
fifth  day,  the  prisoners  claimed  the  right  to  be  de- 
fended by  counsel.  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul  assented,  but 
asked  whom  they  could  get  to  act  as  such.  They 
asked  that  I  should  do  so.  I  protested  that  there  were 
reasons  against  my  doing  so ;  but  I  yielded  to  the  urg- 
ing of  the  Consul  and  his  assessors.  After  a  few 
minutes'  conversation  with  the  prisoners,  I  com- 
menced by  referring  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
British  law,  that  a  man  must  be  considered  innocent 
until  he  was  proved  to  be  guilty,  and  that  there  were 
several  kinds  of  evidence.  I  admitted  that  there  was 
ample  evidence  to  show  that  the  criminal  acts  alleged 


116  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

had  been  committed,  and  that  there  were  reasons  to 
suspect  that  possibly,  some  of  the  accused  had  taken 
part  in  them.  These  facts  and  suspicions  not  only 
fully  justified,  but  made  it  the  duty  of  H.  B.  M/s 
Naval  Commander  to  arrest  and  bring  to  H.  B.  M.'s 
Consul  the  suspected  persons.  But  that,  although  the 
acts  of  violence  were  admitted,  there  was  no  evidence 
to  prove  that  the  accused,  or  any  of  them,  had  actu- 
ally participated  in  those  acts;  and  I  suggested  that 
in  the  failure  to  identify  the  accused  as  the  guilty 
parties,  there  was  the  possibility  that  some  other  party 
might  be  the  really  guilty  persons.  (I  did  not  men- 
tion soiue  of  the  acts,  for  I  was  myself  convinced  that 
the  accused  had  committed  them.)  When  the  court 
was  cleared,  and  all  but  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul  and  the 
two  assessors  had  gone  out  to  consult  together, 
Bishop  Russell  rather  reproached  me  for  helping  the 
rascals.  The  British  Captain  said,  "  Why  I  was  sur- 
prised at  your  speech,  although  I  cannot  say  it  was 
not  a  perfectly  fair  one;  but  I  thought  that  your 
sympathies  were  with  the  prosecution."  "  So  they 
were,"  I  said,  "  and  I  hope  the  guilty  men  will  get 
what  they  deserve;  but  a  rogue  has  his  rights,  and 
you  have  no  right  to  hang  a  man  for  murder,  if  he  can 
be  proved  to  have  committed  an  assault  and  battery." 
The  result  was  that  they  were  acquitted  on  some  of 
the  charges  and  sentenced  on  some  of  the  others  to  a 
tolerably  long  period  of  imprisonment. 


XV 
NANKING  AND  THE  T'AIPING  REBELS 

IN  the  month  of  April,  1861,  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Sagi- 
naw," Capt.  Schenck,  U.  S.  N.,  came  up  the  river 
to  Ningpo,  bringing  me  a  letter  from  Flag 
Officer  Stribling,  U.  S.  N.,  telling  me  that  he  wished 
to  send  a  man  to  Nanking  upon  important  public  busi- 
ness, and  that  he  wanted  an  American  citizen  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  Chinese  written  and  spoken 
language;  that  he  had  been  told  that  Dr.  S.  Wells 
Williams,  Interpreter  and  Secretary  of  the  United 
States  Legation  at  Peking,  being  absent  in  the  United 
States,  there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  other  American 
in  China  who  could  answer  the  requirements ;  that  in 
case  of  my  being  willing  to  do  so,  he  had  given  Capt. 
Schenck  authority  to  wait  48  hours  to  enable  me  to 
make  my  arrangements,  and  then  bring  me  to  Shang- 
hai. At  first  I  hesitated,  as  it  was  the  most  favorable 
time  of  the  year  for  missionary  work ;  but  as  the  busi- 
ness was  represented  to  be  very  important,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  no  other  American  citizen  available,  I 
took  my  Chinese  teacher  and  my  Chinese  servant 
boy,  and  started  in  the  "  Saginaw "  for  Shanghai, 
leaving  my  wife  and  Dr.  Fish,  U.  S.  Vice-Consul,  in 
my  house  at  Ningpo.  The  "  Saginaw  "  was  a  side 
wheel  steamer,  built  at  San  Francisco, — the  first  U. 
S.  man-of-war  to  come  up  the  Yung  River  to  Ningpo. 

117 


118  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

On  reaching  Shanghai  I  went  at  once  on  board  the 
flagship  "  Hartford  "  and  reported  to  "  the  Commo- 
dore," as  we  familiarly  styled  the  Flag  Officer.  We 
were  too  democratic  at  that  time  to  have  Admirals, 
Rear-Admirals,  etc.,  in  our  Navy.  The  first  duty 
assigned  me  was  to  have  official  copies  made,  in  both 
Chinese  and  English,  of  the  Treaty  that  had  been 
made  with  the  Viceroy  Keying,  at  Canton,  on  July 
4th,  1844.  The  original  copies  of  this  Treaty  had, 
(we  privately  learned),  never  been  forwarded  to 
Peking,  but  had  been  burned  up,  or  otherwise 
destroyed,  in  the  Viceroy's  official  residence.  I  copied 
the  English  version  from  a  printed  copy  for  the  Flag 
Officer,  (who  in  the  absence  of  our  Minister,  Mr. 
Ward,  was  acting  as  Charge  d' Affaires)  to  sign;  and 
had  the  Chinese  text  handsomely  copied  and  certified 
to  as  correct  by  the  highest  Chinese  official  at  Shang- 
hai. My  next  duty  was  to  prepare  in  Chinese  the 
draft  of  a  despatch  purporting  to  be  from  our  Charge 
d'Afifaires  forwarding  the  documents.  I  then  sub- 
mitted my  work  to  Flag  Officer  Stribling,  who  ap- 
proved of  it,  and  ordered  me  to  take  the  documents  to 
the  Viceroy  Sii,  who  was  then  in  Shanghai,  having 
been  driven  out  from  his  own  Yamen  at  Nanking  by 
the  T'aiping,  or  "  long-haired  "  rebels,  who  were  then 
in  possession  of  that  city.  About  a  week  or  ten  days 
were  taken  up  with  this  business,  after  which  we  left 
Shanghai  on  our  way  to  Nanking  and  "  beyond." 

The  squadron  consisted  of  the  flagship  "  Hartford," 
Flag  Captain  Lowndes,  U.  S.  N.,  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Da- 
cotah,"  a  screw  propeller  corvette  or  frigate,  Capt. 
Radford,  U.  S.  N.,  and  U.  S.  S.  "  Saginaw,"  Capt. 


NANKING  AND  TAIPING  REBELS       119 

Schenck.  The  former  lieutenant  of  the  "  Saginaw," 
Lieut.  Waddell,  U.  S.  N.,  who  was  a  Virginian,  had 
left  the  ship  at  the  breaking  up  of  our  civil  war,  and 
was  afterwards  commander  of  the  Confederate 
cruisers  "  Shenandoah  "  and  "  Stonewall."  On  board 
of  the  "  Dacotah  "  I  found  Paymaster  C.  C.  Jackson, 
U.  S.  N.,  and  on  the  "  Hartford,"  Paymaster  Gibson, 
U.  S.  N.,  whose  wife  I  had  known  as  a  member  of 
my  father's  church  in  New  York. 

We  steamed  down  the  Hwang-pu  River,  passing 
the  town  of  Woosung  on  the  Woosung  River,  where 
the  latter  empties  into  the  Hwang-pu,  and  into  the 
Yang-tsz,  with  its  wide  embouchure  and  its  islands; 
and  the  same  day  reached  the  city  of  Chin-kiang, 
which  is  situated  on  the  Yang-tsz  nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Grand  Canal,  which  was  used  for  trans- 
porting the  rice  or  grain  in  which  the  taxes  were  col- 
lected. Chin-kiang  is  the  city  which,  in  July,  1842, 
was  taken  by  the  British  forces,  after  a  brave  but  in- 
effectual resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Manchu  troops, 
who,  when  the  British  succeeded  in  taking  possession 
of  the  city,  killed  their  wives  and  children  and  them- 
selves, so  that  of  a  population  of  four  thousand 
Manchus  not  more  than  five  hundred  survived.  It 
was  afterwards  captured  by  the  T'aiping  rebels  in 
1853,  who,  after  having  utterly  destroyed  it,  evacu- 
ated it  in  1857,  but  again  took  possession  of  it,  as  it 
was  considered  to  be  the  key.  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Yang-tsz.  The  next  morning  after  our  anchoring  at 
Chin-kiang  the  Flag  Officer  went  on  shore,  taking  me 
as  interpreter.  My  friend.  Paymaster  Gibson,  a  tall, 
fine  looking  man,  went  with  us.     Captain  Loundes 


120  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

had  brought  from  Hong  Kong  as  his  personal  servant, 
a  Cantonese  boy,  who,  when  the  ship  was  at  Amoy, 
was  comparatively  useless,  being  unable  to  compre- 
hend the  Amoy  dialect  any  more  than  his  master  did. 
The  Captain  feared  that  the  Flag  Officer  would  find 
that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  bringing  a  man  from 
Ningpo  to  act  as  interpreter  in  provinces  at  such 
distances  from  that  city.  The  Paymaster  felt  some 
friendly  anxiety  on  my  account,  and  therefore  came 
with  us,  keeping  close  to  us,  until  we  reached  the  gate 
of  the  city,  but  as  soon  as  the  military  officer  in  charge 
of  the  gate,  in  response  to  my  enquiry  if  we  could 
enter  the  city,  replied  courteously  and  gave  us  per- 
mission, my  friend  was  quite  relieved  of  his  anxiety. 

The  rebels  had  been  again  attacked  by  the  Imperial 
troops  just  a  few  hours  before  our  arrival,  and  had 
been  defeated.  The  city  and  its  suburbs  were  in  ruins 
— ^battered  and  burned.  Dead  bodies  of  men  recently 
killed  were  lying  about  in  all  directions,  some  with 
and  some  without  heads.  Chinese  soldiers  were  run- 
ning about  with  drawn  swords;  one  of  them  with  a 
bloody  blade  in  one  hand,  and  a  dripping  head  held 
by  the  hair  in  the  other.  We  stayed  there  but  a  few 
hours,  and  then  steamed  on  up  the  river  until  we  came 
to  anchor  near  a  fort  in  the  jx)ssession  of  the  T'aip- 
ings,  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek  leading  up  to  Nan- 
king, or  the  "  Heavenly  City,"  as  the  T'aipings  called 
it.  Their  chief,  the  "  Heavenly  King,'*  had  his  capital 
there,  and  a  large  army  was  encamped  outside  the  city 
walls.  By  the  orders  of  Admiral  Stribling,  I  took  one 
of  the  boats  with  a  coxswain  and  five  men,  and  landed 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  fort.     I 


NANKING  AND  T'AIPING  REBELS      121 

there  left  my  men,  and  walked  up  to  the  gate.  The 
rebel  soldiers  on  the  walls  gazed  at  me,  but  seeing  one 
of  the  gates  open,  I  walked  in  before  they  could  keep 
me  out,  as  they  tried  to  do,  as  soon  as  they  perceived 
my  intention  to  enter.  My  knowledge  of  Chinese 
stood  me  in  good  stead,  and  I  called  for  their  com- 
mander, who,  however,  could  not  be  disturbed.  Find- 
ing one  who  seemed  to  have  authority,  I  told  him  that 
we  were  Americans  who  had  come  on  business  with 
the  "  Heavenly  King  "  and  wished  to  send  officers  to 
have  an  audience  with  him.  I  said  I  would  thank  him 
to  have  a  guide  and  passports  for  five  officers  ready  at 
9  A.  M.  the  next  day,  and  asked  him  to  send  word  to 
the  "  Heavenly  City  "  to  have  four  horses,  and  one 
official  sedan  chair  in  waiting  for  us  at  the  landing 
place  at  the  North  Gate  of  the  city.  Admiral  Strib- 
ling  had  showed  me  the  draft,  in  English,  of  certain 
stipulations  which  he  wished  to  get  the  "  Heavenly 
King"  to  consent  to  and  to  have  sealed,  under  his 
"  Heavenly  Seal."  I  read  the  draft,  and  the  Admiral 
did  me  the  honor  to  ask  if  I  wished  to  make  any  sug- 
gestions. I  said  that,  if  he  would  allow  me,  I  would 
suggest  that  the  stipulations  guaranteed  non-molesta- 
tion and  protection  to  United  States  citizens  engaged 
in  trade,  but  said  nothing  that  would  include  United 
States  citizens  who  were  missionaries.  The  Admiral 
then  said,  "  What  would  you  suggest  ?  Write  it 
down."  I  wrote  a  guarantee  also  of  non-molestation 
and  protection  to  all  United  States  citizens  engaged 
in  preaching,  teaching,  or  healing  the  sick,  and  to  all 
in  their  employ  or  under  their  protection.  The  Ad- 
miral said,  "  Put  it  in,  Sir."    I  then,  with  my  teacher* 


122  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

whom  I  had  carried  with  me,  put  the  dcx:ument  into 
Chinese ;  and  while  he  was  making  a  fair  copy,  I  went 
on  shore  and  strolled  through  the  rebel  camp.  A 
filthier  set  I  never  saw  or  imagined.  It  seems  to  me 
that  almost  every  one  of  them  was  covered  with 
pustular  itch.  There  were  Chinese  women  not  a  few. 
Some  of  them  rode  on  ponies,  and  the  most  of  them 
carried  blue  cotton  umbrellas.  There  were  stalls  with 
articles  of  all  kinds  for  sale.  I  had  heard  the  chap- 
lain on  board  the  "  Hartford  "  express  a  wish  for 
some  of  the  best  quality  of  "  India  Ink "  for  his 
daughter  in  the  United  States,  and  I  bought  some 
beautiful  large  cakes  of  it,  of  very  handsome  shapes 
and  designs,  with  which  the  chaplain  was  very  much 
pleased.  I  did  not  buy  anything  for  myself  except  a 
piece  of  almagatholite,  a  stone  which  foreigners  call 
soapstone,  which  is  carved  by  the  Chinese,  particularly 
at  Fuh-chow,  into  vases  and  other  ornamental  articles, 
and  which  I  afterwards  put  to  good  use.  I  was  not 
able  to  go  to  see  the  famous  porcelain  tower,  or  nine- 
storied  pagoda,  which  the  T'aipings  had  wantonly 
blown  up,  but  some  of  our  officers  went  and  brought 
back  white  porcelain  bricks  and  green  tiles  as 
mementoes. 

The  next  morning  Captain  Lowndes,  Captain  Gar- 
land, of  the  U.  S.  Marine  Corps,  Lieut.  Law,  and 
Paymaster  Gibson  left  the  "  Hartford  "  in  one  of  the 
ship's  boats  and  called  at  the  fort,  where  we  found 
our  passports  and  a  guide  waiting  for  us.  The  pull 
was  between  four  or  five  miles ;  and  on  landing  at  the 
North  Gate  of  the  city  we  found  the  horses  and  the 
official  sedan  chair  in  readiness.    After  our  passports 


NANKING  AND  T'AIPING  REBELS       123 

were  examined  we  were  permitted  to  enter  the  gate 
and  were  directed  to  an  apparently  recently  fitted  up 
building  where  a  Council  of  State  was  sitting.  On 
being  ushered  into  the  Council  room  and  seated,  tea 
and  betel  nut  were  offered  us.  I  then  arose,  bowed 
to  a  tall,  good-looking  rebel,  handing  my  Chinese  (un- 
official) card,  and  told  him  that  we  had  come  by  the 
orders  of  the  United  States  Admiral  upon  some  im- 
portant business ;  and  that  to  facilitate  matters  I  had 
had  the  matter  translated  into  Chinese  in  the  document 
which  I  had  the  honor  then  to  hand  him.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  seemed  to  be  all  of  them  from  the 
province  of  Kwang-si  (where  the  rebellion  com- 
menced). One  of  them  was  a  young  man,  the  son  of 
the  "  Heavenly  King  " ;  the  others  were  middle-aged 
with  their  heads  unshaven,  the  long  queues  hanging 
down  their  backs,  and  dressed  in  gorgeous  silk  robes, 
fashioned  after  the  dress  of  the  Ming  Dynasty.  They 
all,  except  the  Prince,  were  styled  Wang  (kings  or 
ruling  princes).  The  one  to  whom  I  addressed  my- 
self was  called  Moh  Wang.  He  spoke  the  Mandarin 
dialect  fluently,  and  interpreted  for  the  others,  who 
spoke  the  Kwang-si  dialect.  After  they  had  consulted 
together,  Moh  Wang  asked  me  if  I  were  a  foreigner 
or  a  Chinese.  I  looked  at  my  clothes  and  asked  him 
if  I  looked  like  a  Chinese.  He  said  the  clothing  was 
no  criterion,  as  many  Chinese  wore  foreign  clothes. 
So  I  told  him  that  we  were  foreigners,  and  Americans. 
He  asked  if  I  could  read  Chinese.  I  said  that  I  could : 
whereupon  he  asked  me  to  read  the  paper  and  explain 
it  to  the  Council  item  by  item.  The  others  stood 
around,  and  he  gave  them  my  readings  and  explana- 


124  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

tions.  After  reading  the  whole,  they  objected  to  the 
wording  of  one  of  the  stipulations.  I  explained  their 
objection  to  Captain  Lowndes,  and  asked  if  he  did  not 
think  I  might  venture  to  slightly  modify  the  wording 
of  the  sentence  referred  to,  as  it  could  be  done  with- 
out changing  the  sense.  He  thought  I  might,  so  I 
asked  Moh  Wang  to  take  the  pen  and  put  in  the  char- 
acters he  wished  substituted.  But  after  trying  once 
or  twice,  he  handed  me  the  pen,  and  asked  me  to  do  it 
myself,  which  I  did,  much  to  the  surprise  and  delight 
of  the  "  kings.''  We  wanted  to  go,  but  they  asked  us 
to  stay  to  dinner.  I  did  not  want  to  do  so,  but  Captain 
Lowndes  said  he  would  never  have  another  such 
chance,  and  so  we  stayed.  The  Council  stood  up,  and 
the  young  Prince  "  asked  a  blessing,"  and  we  sat  down 
at  two  tables.  I  told  Moh  Wang  that  I  thought  he 
would  be  interested  to  see  our  ships,  and  the  "  Hart- 
ford 's  "  big  guns.  He  said  he  would  come  on  board 
if  I  would  come  on  shore  with  him  with  one  of  our 
boats  at  9  A.  m.  the  next  day;  which  I  promised  to 
do;  and  then  we  said  good-bye,  and  got  safely  on 
board  of  the  "  Hartford."  The  city  was  like  the 
desolation  of  many  generations;  but  the  lofty  city 
gates,  wide  streets,  and  heaps  of  ruins  left  room  for 
us  to  believe  that  it  had  been  as  great  and  highly 
adorned  as  Chinese  history  records  it  to  have  been. 


XVI 
FROM  NANKING  TO  HANKOW 

AFTER  the  T'aiping  officers  had  gone  on  shore, 
the  "  Hartford,"  "  Dacotah,"  and  "  Saginaw  " 
got  under  way  and  steamed  up  the  Yang-tsz 
until  sunset.  The  Flag  Officer  determined  to  leave 
the  "  Hartford  "  until  we  returned  from  Hankow,  in 
order  to  save  coal,  and  to  take  only  the  two  other 
ships  to  Hankow.  Early  the  next  morning  I  went  on 
deck,  wishing  to  go  on  shore  and  attempt  to  get  the 
country  people  into  friendly  intercourse  with  the  of- 
ficers and  crew  of  the  "  Hartford,"  so  that  they  might 
go  on  shore  for  exercise  and  to  procure  fresh  provis- 
ions. It  was  rainy,  and  the  river's  banks  were  high 
and  steep,  and  no  village  was  in  sight.  After  a  while, 
I  got  a  passer-by  to  come  near  the  bank,  and  then  told 
him  that  I  wanted  to  go  on  shore  to  their  village. 
The  officer  of  the  deck  let  me  have  a  boat  and  men  to 
pull  me  to  the  bank.  I  held  up  my  hands  to  the  coun- 
tryman, who  pulled  me  up  to  the  top  of  the  bank ;  and 
I  sent  the  boat  back  to  the  ship.  I  went  with  the  coun- 
tryman half  a  mile  or  so,  quite  out  of  sight  of  our 
ship,  until  we  reached  a  house  which  we  entered  and 
I  had  a  talk  with  the  people,  whose  dialect  was  near 
enough  to  the  official  dialect  to  enable  us  to  talk  to- 
gether without  difficulty.  I  told  them  that  we  were 
Americans  and  friendly  disposed ;  that  we  were  going 

125 


126  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

to  leave  our  largest  ship  there  for  ten  or  fifteen  days 
and  that  the  men  might  come  on  shore  to  drill  or  exer- 
cise, but  would  not  harm  them ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
would  prevent  the  "  long  haired  "  rebels  from  molest- 
ing them;  that  any  fresh  provisions  they  had  to  sell, 
our  men  would  pay  them  for.  They  said  that  they 
had  been  plundered  by  both  Imperialists  and  rebels, 
and  that  they  could  not  spare  anything.  They  brought 
me  some  tea  and  some  cakes ;  and  I  heard  one  of  them 
tell  another,  "  you  eat  and  drink  a  little  at  first,  so  that 
he  will  not  fear  to  do  so."  I  laughed,  and  told  them 
I  was  not  afraid  that  they  would  give  me  anything 
bad.  Some  of  them  accompanied  me  to  the  bank,  and 
a  boat  from  the  *'  Hartford  "  took  me  off.  When  I 
reported  to  the  Flag  Officer  the  result  of  my  visit  he 
had  his  baggage  shifted  to  the  "  Saginaw  "  and  I  fol- 
lowed him.  We  bade  good-bye  to  the  "  Hartford  " 
and  steamed  towards  Hankow. 

En  route  we  stopped  at  Kiukiang,  a  city  on  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Yang-tsz  close  to  the  outlet  of 
the  Poyang  Lake,  upon  which,  at  Kin-teh-ching,  are 
made  many  kinds  of  the  celebrated  Chinese  porcelain. 
It  is  also  in  a  region  whence  come  some  of  the  best 
Chinese  green  teas.  It  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
T'aiping  rebels  in  February,  1853,  and  the  people  had 
not  yet  found  courage  to  return  in  any  great  numbers, 
as  the  rebels  were  still  in  possession  of  quite  a  number 
of  places  on  the  Yang-tsz.  It  had  been  partly  rebuilt, 
and  had,  in  my  eyes,  rather  an  attractive  look. 

There  had  been  some  misunderstanding  between  the 
native  authorities  and  the  Cantonese  compradores  of 
an  American  firm  at  Shanghai.     Admiral  Stribhng 


FROM  NANKING  TO  HANKOW  127 

sent  me  on  shore  to  try  and  settle  the  matter,  which  I 
fortunately  succeeded  in  doing  very  soon.  When  we 
stopped  at  Kiukiang  on  our  way  back  to  Nanking,  the 
compradores  showed  their  appreciation  by  sending  on 
board  some  fresh  shad,  which,  somehow,  went  to  the 
wardroom  mess  and  was  highly  appreciated. 

A  member  of  a  firm  in  Shanghai  was  a  guest  of 
Captain  Radford  on  the  "  Dacotah,"  and  afterwards 
made  me  an  offer  of  $3,000  per  annum  simply  to  look 
after  their  Chinese  employes  at  Kiukiang,  leaving  me 
all  the  time  I  wished  to  carry  on  my  medical  mission- 
ary work;  but  I  declined  with  thanks.  I  thought  it 
was  not  advisable  for  a  missionary  to  be  directly  or 
indirectly  engaged  in  making  money ;  for  even  though 
it  might  possibly  do  him  no  harm,  it  would  certainly 
be  misrepresented  and  would  be  an  example  that 
might  do  harm  to  others. 

We  passed  a  number  of  places  on  the  river,  where 
the  Imperialists  and  the  "  long  haired  "  rebels  were 
firing  at  each  other  on  opposite  sides,  but  neither 
party  showed  any  disposition  to  oppose  our  passage. 

Hankow,  (*"  Mouth  of  the  Han,")  is  a  town  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Yang-tsz,  at  the  junction  of  it  with 
the  Han  River.  Opposite,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Yang-tsz  was  Wu-chang-fu,  the  capital  of  the  two 
provinces  Hupeh  and  Hunan,  and  now  the  seat  of  a 
viceroy.  As  a  precautionary  measure  against  the 
rebels  the  city  gates  were  closed,  and  could  not  be 
opened  except  by  express  orders  from  the  viceroy. 
There  was  also  a  stockade  enclosing  the  city  gate, 
garrisoned  by  a  force  of  Tartar  troops  who  had  not 
been  at  all  friendly  to  missionaries,  or  to  other  for- 


128  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

eigners  from  Hankow.  I  was  ordered  by  Flag  Officer 
Stribling  to  deliver  a  message  to  the  viceroy,  saying 
that  our  Charge  wished  to  call  upon  the  viceroy  the 
next  morning ;  accompanied  by  a  party,  sixteen  in  all, 
of  American  naval  officers.  Accordingly  I  took  the 
Flag  Officer's  barge  and  its  crew  of  seven  sailors,  and 
we  rowed  up  to  the  jetty  just  below  the  picket ;  leav- 
ing my  men  in  the  boat,  and  taking  the  Flag  Officer's 
official  card  (in  Chinese  characters  on  red  paper)  in 
my  hand,  I  ran  up  towards  the  gate  of  the  picket  en- 
closure, which  I  saw  was  open.  The  Tartar  soldiers 
also  ran  to  close  the  gate,  to  prevent  my  getting  in; 
but  I  had  managed  to  get  my  arm  and  right  shoulder 
in  between  the  gate  and  the  post,  and  called  out  in 
Chinese  for  their  officer,  at  the  same  time  holding  out 
"  Admiral "  Stribling's  red  card.  They  seemed  as 
much  surprised  as  the  Roman  Centurion  was  to  hear 
the  Apostle  speak  Greek.  My  men,  meanwhile,  fear- 
ing that  I  was  going  to  have  trouble,  came  running  up 
from  the  jetty,  but  the  officer  had  made  his  appear- 
ance, and  I  delivered  my  card  and  my  message,  re- 
questing that  if  the  Viceroy  could  conveniently  receive 
the  "  Admiral "  and  his  party,  he  would  kindly  pro- 
vide a  large  sedan  with  eight  bearers  for  the  "  Ad- 
miral "  and  a  sedan  with  four  bearers  for  each  of  the 
other  officers,  to  be  in  waiting  at  10  a.  m.  the  next 
morning  at  the  jetty.  This  was  done  as  we  requested, 
and  we  were  not  only  politely  treated,  but  the  visit 
was  also  returned  the  day  after,  with  all  the  necessary 
salutes  on  both  sides.  The  Viceroy  also  sent  the 
"  Admiral "  four  oxen,  and  four  barges  of  coal  as  a 
present. 


FROM  NANKING  TO  HANKOW  129 

The  "  Dacotah  "  had  her  swinging  boom  out,  and 
as  one  of  the  coal  barges  came  alongside,  one  of  the 
Chinese  boatmen  took  a  "  chain  painter  "  with  a  hook 
on  the  end,  and  tried  to  hook  it  around  the  swinging 
boom.  He  did  not  appear  to  remember  that  the  river 
current  was  running  very  swiftly,  and  as  the  chain 
"  paid  out "  the  barge  was  carried  down  stream  by 
the  current  very  rapidly.  His  leg  got  caught  in  the 
bight  of  the  chain,  and  was  taken  off  above  the  ankle. 
Our  surgeons,  Cowes  and  Banby,  were  at  once  on 
hand  to  amputate,  but  were  unable  to  proceed  until 
the  sufferer  was  persuaded  that  the  operation  would 
not  pain  him  at  all ;  he  finally  consented  to  allow  me 
to  hold  his  limb,  while  Dr.  Cowes  administered  chloro- 
form and  Dr.  Danby  performed  the  operation.  We 
had  to  leave  the  man  in  charge  of  the  surgeon  of  H. 
B.  M.'s  ship  "  Snake,"  which  was  lying  at  Hankow. 
On  board  the  "  Dacotah  "  a  subscription  was  made  up 
for  him  amounting  to  $80.  We  heard  afterwards  that 
the  patient  made  a  good  recovery,  and  that  several 
other  Chinese  with  bad  legs  had  applied  to  have  them 
amputated  also,  hoping  perhaps  to  get  as  many  dol- 
lars as  our  patient  did. 

The  "  Admiral "  took  the  "  Saginaw  "  and  went 
into  the  Tongting  Lake,  some  distance  further  up  the 
Yang-tsz.  There  he  sent  me  on  shore  with  a  polite 
message  to  the  Prefect  of  Yoh-chau-fu.  The  city  had 
lately  been  devastated  by  the  rebels,  and  I  had  to  go 
on  the  city  walls  until  I  came  in  sight  of  the  Prefect's 
yamen.  Mr.  Nelson,  of  Shanghai,  who  was  a  guest 
of  Mr.  Radford  on  the  "  Dacotah,"  went  with  me. 
The  Prefect  was  a  Manchu  Tartar,  and  seemed  very 


130  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

glad  to  receive  our  visit,  particularly  when  he  found 
that  I  knew  several  Mandarins  of  his  acquaintance. 
We  did  not  remain  long  enough  for  him  to  return  our 
call ;  and  the  lake  had  not  yet  been  surveyed  and  the 
soundings  seemed  to  vary  irregularly ;  so  the  Admiral 
turned  back,  and  we  spent  another  day  at  Hankow 
and  Wu-chang-fu,  and  then,  with  the  "  Dacotah " 
went  down  the  river,  picking  up  the  "  Hartford  "  en 
route,  and  came  to  anchor  off  Nanking.  Here  I  went 
on  shore  again  to  exchange  with  the  rebel  chiefs  our 
copies  of  the  stipulations,  which  we  had  made  with 
them  two  weeks  before. 

As  I  was  not  allowed  to  use  the  United  States  Le- 
gation seal  (our  Minister  being  accredited  to  the 
Chinese  Imperial  Government),  I  took  the  piece  of 
"  soapstone  "  I  had  procured,  and  had  my  name,  na- 
tionality, and  literary  title  cut  upon  it  in  the  seal  (or 
ancient  Chinese)  character  with  which  I  stamped  our 
copy  of  the  stipulations,  and  exchanged  them  for  the 
rebel  copy  with  the  stamp  or  seal  of  the  "  Heavenly 
King  "  upon  them.  I  confidently  calculated  that  the 
rebels  would  not  be  able  to  decipher  the  ancient  char- 
acters more  than  just  enough  to  make  out  something 
about  the  United  States  of  America.  It  might  have 
been  embarrassing  if  they  had  been  able  to  make  out 
the  style  and  title  of  a  simple  American  A.  M.,  named 
Mah.  The  rebels  at  Nanking  showed  such  a  degree 
of  illiteracy  that  I  made  the  venture,  but  felt  much 
relieved  when  I  handed  the  Admiral  their  copy  of  the 
stipulations,  stamped  with  the  royal  seal  of  the 
"  Heavenly  King." 

At  Nanking  we  took  on  board  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bon- 


FROM  NANKING  TO  HANKOW  131 

ney,  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  who  had  travelled  over- 
land from  Canton  to  Yohchau,  reaching  there  just 
after  the  "  Saginaw  "  had  left  for  Hankow. 

On  our  way  back  to  Shanghai  we  met  with  no  un- 
usual occurrence  except  when  a  Chinese  junk  which, 
owing  to  the  strong  tide  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
Woosung  River,  had  become  unmanageable,  struck 
with  her  mast  one  of  the  "  Hartford's  "  boats,  dam- 
aging it  and  breaking  the  mast  in  two. 

I  was  kept  at  Shanghai  for  a  few  days  longer  as 
the  medium  of  communication  between  Admiral 
Stribling  and  the  Viceroy  of  Nanking.  The  latter 
had  many  questions  to  ask  me  about  the  rebels.  Then 
the  Admiral,  having  accomplished  his  business,  sent 
the  "  Dacotah  "  to  Hong  Kong,  and  gave  orders  to 
Captain  Radford  to  take  me  to  Ningpo  on  his  way. 
We  anchored  at  Chinhai,  where  I  was  put  ashore  with 
my  teacher  and  boy,  and  thence  made  my  way  up  to 
Ningpo,  glad  to  have  had  a  pleasant  trip  full  of  inci- 
dents and  to  find  all  well  at  home. 


XVII 
ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  CHEFOO 

IT  had  so  happened  that  there  had  been  a  disagree- 
ment between  the  British  Minister,  Sir  Frederick 
Bruce,  and  the  Chinese  high  officials,  which  had 
resulted  in  a  fight  at  Taku,  where  the  British,  not 
knowing  the  preparations  made  by  the  Chinese  to 
receive  them,  had  suffered  a  repulse.  Two  or  three  of 
their  gun-boats  were  sunk,  the  Admiral,  Sir  James 
Hope,  was  wounded,  and  quite  a  considerable  number 
of  those  under  his  command  were  killed  or  wounded. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  Commodore  Tatnall,  U.  S.  N., 
who,  with  his  squadron  lying  at  anchor  in  the  offing, 
seeing  that  those  of  his  "  own  blood  "  were  faring 
badly,  made  the  exclamation  since  so  frequently  as- 
sociated with  his  name,  *'  Blood  is  thicker  than  water," 
and  sent  in  a  small  steamer  which  towed  out  the  Brit- 
ish boats,  and  prevented  greater  slaughter.  While 
Commodore  Tatnall  was  going  in  person  to  call  upon 
Sir  James  Hope  on  this  occasion,  his  own  coxswain 
was  killed  by  shot  from  the  Chinese. 

The  "  Nora,"  on  which  we  were  embarked,  met  a 
merchant  vessel  outside  of  Chef  oo  and  learned  of  the 
fight  at  Taku,  and  also  of  the  fact  that  all  the  foreign 
ships  had  left  Chefoo,  and  anchored  off  some  islands 
some  five  or  six  miles  from  that  port.  We  found 
three  British  opium  ships  and  one  American  ship 

132 


ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  CHEFOO         133 

(loaded  with  beans)  at  the  islands.  The  people  of  the 
islands  were  unfriendly,  and  indisposed  to  furnish 
either  water  or  provisions  for  the  ships.  I  told  Cap- 
tain Williams  that  if  he  would  allow  one  of  the 
Lascars  to  put  me  on  shore  I  would  do  what  I  could 
to  get  into  communication  with  the  natives.  He 
strongly  urged  me  not  to  attempt  it;  but  seeing  that 
I  was  determined,  offered  me  his  new  six-barrelled  re- 
volver, which  I,  however,  declined  with  thanks,  telling 
him  that  in  case  the  people  were  brave  it  would  be  of 
little  use  in  the  crowd ;  and  that,  in  any  event,  I  had  a 
dislike  to  carrying  a  pistol  when  going  in  a  missionary 
capacity!  So  he  let  me  have  a  Lascar  and  the 
"  dingy,'*  and  I  went  ashore ;  sending  the  men  back  to 
the  schooner.  In  my  pocket  I  had  a  few  Christian 
tracts  and  took  with  me  also  a  copy  of  an  illustrated 
work  in  Chinese  on  anatomy  and  physiology.  Hear- 
ing the  unmellifluous  sounds  of  Chinese  schoolboys 
droning  over  their  lessons,  each  trying  to  drown  the 
voice  of  the  others,  I  went  in  their  direction  and  found 
a  boys'  school  at  the  entrance  of  a  village.  The  teacher 
put  himself  in  the  doorway  to  prevent  my  entrance; 
but  as  he  drew  back  to  return  my  polite  salutation,  I 
slipped  in  past  him,  apologizing  at  the  same  time  for 
being  so  rude,  but  told  him  that  I  had  a  book  which  I 
wanted  to  show  him.  I  opened  the  anatomy  and  ex- 
plained some  of  the  illustrations.  Some  of  the  schol- 
ars went  and  brought  their  fathers  ;  and  we  were  soon 
on  friendly  terms.  They  told  me,  however,  that  they 
had  not  had  rain  for  seven  months,  and  were  therefore 
not  well  able  to  spare  any  water  for  our  ships.  When 
I  was  going  back  I  invited  them  to  come  on  board  the 


134  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

ships  the  next  morning,  which  they  did.  We  treated 
them  hospitably,  giving  them  biscuits,  bread,  etc.,  and 
making  them  presents  of  pencils  and  foreign  writing 
paper,  so  that  they  left  us  feeling  very  friendly,  and 
said  that  they  would  be  very  well  pleased  to  see  us  at 
their  village ;  but  if  any  of  the  "  black  devils  " — as 
they  called  the  lascars — came,  they  would  kill  them. 
After  a  week  or  more,  during  which  we  were  unable 
to  effect  a  landing  at  Chefoo,  Captain  Williams  got 
orders  to  return  to  Shanghai.  The  "  Nora  "  was  a 
slow  sailer,  and  the  weather  was  cloudy,  so  that  we 
had  to  sail  by  dead  reckoning,  but  at  last  reached 
Shanghai  safely.  I  started  immediately  for  Ningpo, 
crossing  the  Bay  of  Hangchow  in  a  boat  which  com- 
bined accommodation  for  passengers  and  the  transpor- 
tation of  pigs,  but  suffered  no  further  hardship  than 
the  long  tramp  barefooted  across  the  soft,  muddy  flats 
until  I  reached  the  canal  leading  to  Ningpo. 

I  had  learned  something,  although  not  a  great  deal, 
about  the  climate,  soil,  productions,  and  inhabitants  of 
the  Shangtung  province.  It  was  three  years  after 
this  that  I  was  really  able  to  reach  Chefoo.  Whether 
I  threw  away  my  time  or  not  on  my  first  trip,  I  do  not 
know.  Sometimes  when  we  have  toiled  all  night  and 
taken  nothing,  in  His  own  time,  the  Master  comes  and 
tells  us  to  "  let  down  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the 
ship,"  and  then  we  are  rewarded  for  our  night  of  toil. 
Possibly  one  or  two  of  the  Christian  tracts  may  have 
been  like  good  seed  that  has  fallen  upon  good  ground, 
either  on  those  islands,  or  may  have  been  carried  to 
the  main  land,  and  eventually  may  have  brought  forth 
fruit  unto  life  eternal. 


XVIII 
SECOND  ATTEMPT.    CHEFOO 

MY  next  trip  to  Chef  oo  was  in  July,  1852.  Mrs. 
McCartee  had  been  quite  ill  during  the  pre- 
ceding summer  and  through  the  kindness  of 
my  life-long  friend,  Mr.  Robert  M.  Olyphant,  we 
were  enabled  to  go  to  Yokohama,  without  expense  tp 
the  Board,  an  account  of  which  I  have  given  else- 
where.   The  summer  of  1862  was  still  very  trying,  the 
thermometer  often  standing  at  100  degrees  Fahren- 
heit for  several  days  together.    I  had  engaged  a  pas- 
sage for  Mrs.  McCartee  and  myself  to  Chefoo  in  a 
little  French  brig,  the  **  Marie."    The  Captain  gave 
up  to  us  his  own  stateroom ;  but  as  one  of  the  mission 
families  at  Ningpo  with  a  sick  baby,  also  wished  to 
take  passage  for  Chefoo,  Mrs.  McCartee  ^nd  I  gave 
up  the  Captain's  stateroom  to  the  mother  and  child. 
Everything  on  board  the  "  Marie  "  was  on  a  small 
scale,  but  quiet  and  orderly.    She  had  been  saiHng  in 
the  v/arm  regions  of  Tonquin  and  Java,  and  during 
the  first  night  out  we  were  awakened  by  a  sudden 
"  whirr,"  as  innumerable  cockroaches  rushed  over  our 
faces.    Mrs.  McCartee  sat  up  and  fought  them  with  a 
couple  of  towels,  while  I  thrashed  away  with  what- 
ever  I   could   lay   my   hands   on.     Fortunately  the 
weather  was  mild,  and  for  the  next  four  nights,  I  slept 
on  deck.    As  we  neared  the  mouth  of  the  Harbor  of 

135 


136  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Chefoo  we  met  another  ship  coming  out,  and  hailed 
her  to  ask  the  news.  The  answer  was  "  Cholera  of  a 
fatal  kind  has  broken  out  in  Chefoo,  and  there  is  no 
foreign  physician,  nor  any  medicines  to  be  had  there." 
But  there  we  were  for  better  or  for  worse.  Chefoo 
was  at  that  time  a  filthy  place,  consisting  of  fisher- 
men's huts,  storehouses,  and  a  few  adobe  buildings, 
used  for  warehouses  or  for  mules,  by  which  every- 
thing was  transported  into  the  interior.  There  was 
not  a  Chinese  family  or  a  decent  woman  in  the  place. 
There  were  some  English  merchants,  and  a  few 
others,  Englishmen,  in  the  service  of  the  Chinese  Im- 
perial Maritime  Customs.  All  these  lived  a  short 
distance  outside  of  the  dirty  streets.  Mrs.  Holmes, 
who  had  been  attacked  with  cholera,  recovered  and 
did  good  service  for  several  years  afterwards  at 
Tungchow.  Mrs.  Smith  and  Mme.  Bonheur  died  of 
the  cholera  almost  before  the  physician  could  reach 
them.  Mrs.  Smith  was  very  active  in  ministering  to 
the  sick,  but  her  state  of  health  was  such  that  I  had 
earnestly  begged  her  husband  to  bring  her  away  from 
Chefoo,  because  if  she  were  attacked  by  the  cholera, 
she  would  surely  succumb.  She  came  down  on  the 
third  day  and  died  that  night.  About  six  days  later 
I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Nevius  telling  me  that 
Mr.  Gayley  had  been  attacked  by  cholera  at  Tung- 
chow, and  asking  me  to  come  up.  I  started  immedi- 
ately. The  most  of  the  other  missionaries  came  with 
us,  being  unwilling  to  stay  in  a  place  fifty-four  miles 
from  a  physician.  We  had  to  pass  Mr.  Gayley's 
house  on  our  way  to  that  of  Mr.  Nevius,  and  learned 
from  Mrs.  Gayley  that  her  husband  had  been  buried 


SECOND  ATTEMPT;  CHEFOO  137 

that  morning.  Mr.  Nevius  apologized  for  not  giving 
me  time  to  eat  or  drink,  or  even  to  wash  my  face  or 
hands,  saying  that  there  were  five  among  the  mission- 
aries and  their  children,  who  were  then  lying  ill  with 
cholera.  All  recovered,  however,  with  the  exception 
of  one  child  of  four  years  of  age.  The  rest  were 
mercifully  kept  in  good  health  during  the  summer, 
and  the  cholera  at  last  ceased ;  but  not  until  at  almost 
every  house  one  or  more  Chinese  had  died.  Whole 
villages  throughout  the  country  were  depopulated. 
The  people  said  that  it  was  worse  than  the  rebels ;  for 
there  was  some  chance  of  running  away  from  the  lat- 
ter, but  not  from  the  cholera.  While  the  cholera  epi- 
demic lasted,  it  was  very,  very  sad  to  hear,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night,  a  sudden  cry,  like  the  cry  in  Egypt, 
from  houses  where  some  member  of  the  family  had 
died.  The  mortality  in  and  about  Chefoo  amounted  to 
one-third  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  the  early  part  of  1863  we  were  joined  at  Chefoo, 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  Rankin,  of  Ningpo,  who,  on  my 
recommendation,  had  come  up  to  Shangtung,  to  see 
whether  in  a  more  favorable  climate,  his  health  and 
strength  would  not  sufficiently  improve  to  undertake 
the  long  voyage  in  a  sailing  vessel  to  America.  As 
we  were  living  in  a  very  poorly  built  house,  the  floors 
being  made  of  clay  and  lime  beaten  down  hard  and 
smooth  with  rushes  spread  above,  and  quite  unsuitable 
for  an  invalid,  we  took  him  to  Tungchow.  He 
gradually  faded  away,  however,  and  died  quietly  on 
the  2nd  of  July. 

I  found  it  at  first  very  difficult  to  get  a  lot  outside 
of  Chefoo,  bur  at  last,  in  1863,  I  succeeded  in  leasing 


138  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

one  in  the  village  of  T'ung-shin,  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  from  Chefoo,  on  which  I  built  a  small  one- 
storied  house  of  four  rooms.  The  villagers  at  first 
were  distant  and  indisposed  to  be  friendly.  Accord- 
ing to  their  local  customs,  no  male  person  could  enter 
his  neighbour's  house  until  the  women  were  sent  out 
of  the  way,  nor  could  any  man  speak  to  or  take  notice 
of  the  women  whom  they  might  pass  walking  in  the 
street,  or  washing  clothes  in  the  brook  by  the  road- 
side. In  cases  of  severe  or  sudden  illness,  however, 
an  exception  was  made  in  favor  of  the  physician,  and 
at  such  times  I  found  the  women  quite  as  free  and 
ready  to  talk  to  the  doctor  as  they  are  in  other  coun- 
tries. As  the  Chinese  are  very  subject  to  sudden  and 
violent  attacks  of  gastralgia,  which  I  found  it  easy 
to  relieve  speedily,  I  soon  became  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  people  in  the  village.  After  a  little  while 
we  found  the  people  generally  kind  and  obliging ;  and 
we  found  religious  enquirers  often  manifesting  openly 
more  feeling  and  of  a  sense  of  sin  than  I  had  ever 
been  accustomed  to  see  in  Middle  China.  When  we 
left  to  return  to  Ningpo  two  years  after,  several  of 
our  neighbours  actually  shed  tears. 

In  January,  1864,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Hunter  Cor- 
bett  and  Calvin  W.  Mateer,  with  their  wives,  came  up 
from  Chefoo  to  Shanghai,  after  a  tedious  and  most 
uncomfortable  voyage  from  the  United  States.  A 
few  miles  to  the  east  of  Chefoo,  their  ship  ran 
aground  at  night,  and  they  had  to  get  to  shore  as  soon 
as  possible.  They  spent  the  night  upon  a  heated  brick 
couch,  such  as  are  used  in  northern  China  and  Siberia, 
and  reached  our  house  the  next  morning.    Our  Board 


SECOND  ATTEMPT;  CHEFOO     139 

has  seldom  sent  out  a  more  efficient  reinforcement 
than  these  four.  Mrs.  Corbett  had  been  a  missionary 
teacher  in  the  service  of  the  Board  among  our  Ameri- 
can Indians.  She  was  still  young,  studious,  and  of  a 
most  lovable  character.  Mrs.  Mateer  was  equally  con- 
scientious and  efficient,  and  was  universally  beloved. 
Mrs.  Corbett  died  in  Chefoo  on  March  10th,  1873, 
leaving  two  children.  Dr.  Mateer,  assisted  by  his 
wife,  established  a  boys'  school,  which  has  since 
been  styled  a  college,  and  several  "  professors."  Sev- 
eral of  its  graduates  have  been  taken  into  the  Chinese 
Government  service  as  surveyors,  etc.  Dr.  Corbett 
has,  from  first  to  last,  devoted  himself  principally  to 
preaching  and  itinerating  in  the  province  of  Shang- 
tung,  and  his  labours  have  been  signally  blessed  in 
the  hopeful  conversion  and  baptism  of  more  than  a 
thousand  persons. 

The  foreign  commerce  at  Chefoo  rapidly  increased. 
It  is  the  farthest  north  of  the  treaty  ports  of  China 
which  vessels  can  enter  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
winter.  The  Gulf  of  Pechili  is  closed  by  ice  from  the 
last  of  November  until  the  10th  of  March,  and  all 
communication  or  travel  between  Shanghai  and  Pekin 
in  winter  has  to  be  via  Chefoo,  overland  to  Tientsin. 
I  became  acquainted  with  several  of  the  masters  of 
the  foreign  vessels  which  called  at  Chefoo.  One  of 
these  was  a  pious  Scotchman,  almost  all  of  whose 
crew  came  from  the  same  place  in  Scotland  as  him- 
self. He  had  a  notice  posted  up  in  a  prominent  place 
in  the  ship  forbidding  the  use  of  profane  language, 
and  if  his  men  did  not  do  their  duty  promptly,  he  used 
to  threaten  "  I'll  tell  your  mithers."     I  had  an  in- 


140  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

formal  Sunday  service  at  my  house  to  which  I  invited 
sailors  from  the  ships,  and  others  who  might  be  dis- 
posed to  meet  with  us.  This  gradually  led  to  an  open 
service,  conducted  by  an  ordained  minister,  when  one 
was  present,  and  at  other  times  by  myself.  This 
service  was  attended  by  my  friend,  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul 
Morrison,  and  one  or  two  merchants,  together  with 
some  sea  captains  and  sailors ;  and  in  the  course  of 
two  years  we  erected  a  small  but  well-built  chapel  on 
Beacon  Hill.  One  day  a  Swedish  Captain  whom  I 
knew  entered  my  house,  accompanied  by  a  foreigner 
dressed  in  Chinese  costume.  He  proved  to  be  the 
Rev.  W.  C.  Bums,  a  very  fearless  and  earnest  mis- 
sionary, whose  name  is  not  forgotten  by  those  who  are 
interested  in  foreign  missions  in  China.  He  was  the 
young  licentiate  who  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  Rev. 
Murray  McCheyne,  of  St.  Peter's,  in  Dundee,  under 
whom  such  a  remarkably  Pentecostal  season  took 
place.  A  few  years  before  his  visit  to  Chef oo,  during 
the  T'aiping  rebellion,  Mr.  Burns  had  been  arrested  as 
a  spy,  and  sent  to  Canton  in  chains  by  the  Chinese. 
Now,  he  said,  the  Lord  had  sent  him  to  Peking  to  lay 
before  H.  B.  M.'s  minister,  Sir  Frederic  Bruce,  the 
matter  of  the  persecution  of  the  Chinese  Christians  in 
the  Fuhkien  Province.  So  intent  was  he  upon  his 
mission,  that  he  refused  all  invitations  sent  him  by 
the  missionaries  at  Tungchow  to  visit  them,  lest  he 
should  lose  thereby  a  chance  of  getting  a  passage  to 
Tientsin.  I  never  saw  a  professing  Christian  who  so 
uniformly,  among  all  sorts  of  people,  witnessed  such 
a  good  confession. 

While  I  was  living  at  Chefoo,  I  had  to  go  to  Tung- 


SECOND  ATTEMPT;  CHEFOO  14.1 

chow  as  a  physician  a  great  number  of  times.    Once 
I  travelled  all  night,  but  owing  to  a  sudden  violent 
storm  of  rain,  the  rivers  were  so  swollen  that  I  had 
to  wait  several  hours  until  the  floods  had  gone  down 
sufficiently  to  allow  the  mules  to  swim  across.     At 
another  time  the  muleteer  allowed  his  mules  to  get 
away  from  him  and  they  ran  at  full  speed.    Knowing 
that  we  were  certain  to  go  to  wreck  in  a  swamp 
which  was  in  the  road,  I  chose  a  favorable  moment 
and  took  my  chance  of  jumping  from  the  shafts  over 
the  back  of  the  front  mule;  fortunately  I  alighted 
without   being   hurt.     Again   I    could   hire   only   a 
donkey,  and  felt  so  sorry  for  the  little  animal  that  I 
walked  a  greater  part  of  the  fifty-four  miles.    Gener- 
ally we  stopped  over  night  at  an  inn,  sleeping  on  the 
"  kang,"  or  brick  stoves,  and  eating  the  Chinese  food, 
which  was  more  like  our  home  diet  than  that  of  Mid- 
dle China.     These  inns  are  Uke  caravansaries,  built 
around  a  court  in  which  the  mules  and  donkeys  were 
kept,  making  the  night  hideous  by  their  braying. 

After  a  year  Mr.  Corbett  and  I  organized  a  church 
at  Chef oo,  to  which  were  transferred  a  number  of  the 
native  Christians  from  Tungchow.  In  1865,  by  re- 
quest of  the  >Jingpo  Mission,  I  returned  to  that  place 
to  take  the  general  oversight  of  the  mission  work  m 
the  Tong-hyiang  district,  which  had  become  more  ex- 
tensive in  my  absence.  With  the  help  of  some  of  Dr. 
Bethune's  friends  in  the  United  States,  I  leased  and 
fitted  up  a  chapel  for  the  church  at  Baokotah,  and  m 
1870  the  Sunday  School  in  Pittsburgh  connected  with 
the  Alleghany  Presbyterian  Church,  sent  a  very  hand- 
some large  bell  to  the  "  Bethune  Chapel,"  so  that  for 


142  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

the  many  years  the  heathen  and  the  Christians  in 
Tong-hyang  ahke  have  been  notified  by  the  sound  of 
our  beautiful  bell,  that  "  this  is  worship  day." 

While  residing  at  Chefoo,  I  was  surprised  to  re- 
ceive a  commission  from  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward, 
United  States  Secretary  of  State,  appointing  me 
United  States  Vice  and  Acting  Consul.  On  its  re- 
ceipt I  put  the  commission  into  my  desk,  and  wrote  to 
the  Consul  General  at  Shanghai,  through  whom  it  had 
been  forwarded,  saying  that  there  was  only  one 
American  citizen  at  Chefoo  besides  myself,  and  at 
Tungchow,  fifty- four  miles  distant,  a  few  American 
missionaries  and  American  ships,  entering  the  port  of 
Chefoo  owing  to  the  war ;  and  that  as  the  acceptance 
of  the  appointment  would  confine  me  to  the  office,  and 
interfere  with  my  medical  missionary  duties,  I  begged 
respectfully  to  decline  the  appointment.  But  a  con- 
troversy had  arisen  between  some  of  the  members  of 
the  mission,  and  the  Chinese  authorities,  with  refer- 
ence to  a  house  that  belonged  to  a  Chinese  widow. 
The  Hon.  Anson  Burlingame,  at  that  time  United 
States  Minister  to  Peking,  was  much  embarrassed  by 
the  complaints  from  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  or  Foreign 
Office,  and  immediately  notified  the  Chinese  officials 
of  my  appointment,  and  suggested  that  a  Chinese 
officer  should  be  deputed  to  coadjudicate  with  me  the 
matter  in  dispute.  Mr.  Burlingame  notified  me  of 
this  arrangement,  and  almost  at  the  same  time  I  re- 
ceived a  despatch  from  the  District  Magistrate  at 
Tongchow,  whose  wounded  servant  I  had  formerly 
treated,  informing  me  in  very  friendly  and  courteous 
language,  that  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  Tsungli 


SECOND  ATTEMPT;  CHEFOO     143 

Yamen  to  act  with  me  in  settling  the  matter  in  dis- 
pute. In  reply  I  expressed  the  pleasure  that  I  felt  in 
being  associated  with  such  a  courteous  and  scholarly 
officer  as  himself.  When  we  met  I  told  him  that  our 
respective  forms  of  procedure  in  the  examination  of 
witnesses,  etc.,  differed  so  widely,  that  it  would  be 
very  difficult,  if  not  quite  impossible,  for  us  to  arrive 
at  any  settlement  that  would  be  satisfactory  to  the 
parties  concerned.  I  therefore  suggested  that  we  each 
appoint  a  referee,  and  bind  the  parties  we  represented 
to  abide  by  their  award.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  the 
award  was  given  much  more  in  favor  of  the  mission- 
aries than  I  had  ventured  to  hope  it  would  be.* 


*  The  correspondence  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in 
the  United  States  Foreign  Relations  for  1866,  and  the 
case  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Burlingame  to  be  one  of 
the  most  difficult  cases  he  had  ever  met  with. 


XIX 
JAPAN 

WHILE  I  was  in  the  house  of  Messrs.  Lowrie 
and  Williams  at  Macao  in  1844,  Dr.  Wil- 
liams had  with  him  some  seven  Japanese 
who  had  been  wrecked  on  Luzon  and  the  N.  W.  coast 
of  China.  C.  W.  King,  Esq.,  of  the  firm  of  Talbot, 
Olyphant  and  Co.,  had,  in  1837,  taken  them  in  his 
ship,  the  "  Morrison,"  accompanied  by  Mrs.  King, 
Dr.  Peter  Parker,  and  Dr.  Williams,  to  Japan,  hoping 
to  be  allowed  to  land  the  sailors  in  their  native  land. 
In  this  hope,  however,  they  were  disappointed,  for 
they  were  fired  upon,  and  neither  they  themselves 
nor  the  castaways  were  allowed  to  land.  [Cape  King, 
of  the  charts,  was  so  named  from  this  visit  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  King.] 

Dr.  Williams  was  working  at  the  Japanese  language 
with  the  help  of  some  of  these  men;  though,  of 
course,  at  a  great  disadvantage,  as  they  were  illiterate ; 
yet  it  familiarized  him  somewhat  with  the  people  and 
language  of  Japan,  and,  in  a  measure,  fitted  him  for 
the  post  of  interpreter  to  Commodore  Perry's  expedi- 
tion to  Japan,  which  he  afterwards  filled  with  so  much 
credit.  One  of  these  Japanese  went  as  servant  with 
Mr.  Thom  to  Ningpo,  when  the  latter  was  appointed 
H.  B.  M.*s  Consul  at  that  place.  After  his  master's 
death,  poor  "  Iwa  "  suddenly  disappeared,  and  it  was 

144 


JAPAN  145 

generally  supposed  that  he  had  met  with  a  violent 
death. 

In  the  city  of  Tinghai,  on  the  island  of  Chusan,  in 
the  year  1844, 1  one  day  saw  a  crowd  gathered  around 
a  group  of  dark-complexioned  men  at  the  police  head- 
quarters. On  inquiry  I  was  told  that  they  had  been 
landed  by  some  vessel ;  but  that  nothing  further  was 
known,  or  could  be  learned  about  them.  I  expressed 
the  opinion  that  they  were  probably  Japanese,  some 
of  whom  I  had  heard  had  been  brought  over  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  of  North  America,  in  the  U.  S.  S.  "  St. 
Mary's."  Knowing  of  Mr.  Thom's  Japanese  servant, 
I  suggested  that  they  be  sent  to  Ningpo;  which  was 
done,  and  they  were  afterwards,  through  the  kind 
assistance  of  Mr.  Thom,  sent  to  Nagasaki  by  the 
Chinese  Mandarins. 

In  the  spring  of  1850  the  Magistrate  of  Ningpo,  in 
accordance  with  instructions  from  the  Lieut.  Gover- 
nor of  Hangchow,  sent  a  request  that  H.  B.  M.'s 
Consul  Hague  and  myself  would  come  to  his  office, 
and  assist  him  in  ascertaining  the  nationality  of  certain 
foreigners  who  had  been  shipwrecked  on  one  of  the 
islands  of  the  Chusan  group,  but  who  they  were,  and 
whence  they  came,  nobody  seemed  to  know.  The 
British  Consul,  who  arrived  at  the  Magistrate's  office 
before  me,  had  come  to  no  definite  conclusion;  but 
thought  that  the  men  might  be  Loochooans.  The 
Magistrate  said  that  they  were  the  stupidest  men  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  that  the  only  word  that  they  had 
uttered  that  he  could  understand  was  "  Ningpo." 
The  subject  of  an  expedition  to  Japan  was  just  then 
being  discussed  in  the  United  States,  and  I  too  had 


U6  As  Hfi  ItEGARDED  HlMSlLl^ 

taken  the  pains  to  read  up  all  that  I  could  find  on  th'6 
subject.  When  the  men  were  brought  in,  and  pros- 
trated themselves  before  us,  taking  my  cue  from  the 
•Magistrate's  "  Ningpo,"  I  said  to  them  "  Nippon ! 
Goto !  Nagasaki  1 "  The  words  acted  like  magic. 
Leaping  up,  they  caught  hold  of  me,  and  began  re- 
peating what  were  apparently  the  names  of  their 
native  places.  The  question  of  their  nationality  being 
thus  established,  I  requested  the  Magistrate  that  some 
of  the  men  might  be  allowed  to  go  to  my  house  with 
me  for  a  day,  and  I  would  ascertain  as  much  as  I 
could  of  their  history.  This  was  cheerfully  assented 
to ;  and  although  they  were  so  illiterate  that  they  knew 
no  Chinese  characters  (which  are  also  largely  used  in 
Japan),  yet  with  the  assistance  of  a  vocabulary  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Medhurst,  and  by  the  use  of  gesticula- 
tions, I  learned  their  names,  as  well  as  those  of  their 
parents,  and  of  their  native  villages ;  what  their  occu- 
pation was ;  how  long  since  they  were  wrecked  in  the 
typhoon ;  how  many  were  saved  in  the  boats,  etc.,  etc. 
The  Chinese  officials  were  much  pleased  with  the  re- 
sult, and  the  men  were  sent  to  their  homes  via  Naga- 
saki. Twelve  years  later  I  made  inquiries  there  re- 
garding them,  but  could  learn  nothing.  I  trust  that 
they  were  not  punished  for  going  to  a  foreign  land, 
as  their  going  was  quite  involuntary  on  their  part. 


XX 
FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  JAPAN 

IN  1854.  our  Missionary  Board  wished  to  send  me 
to  Japan  as  a  pioneer,  and  our  treasurer,  Mr. 
Wm.  Rankin,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board,  sug- 
gested to  the  Department  of  State  that  I  be  appointed 
as  a  Consul  to  Japan,  representing  to  Secretary  Marcy 
that  I  had  for  several  years  been  discharging  the 
functions  of  U.  S.  Consul  in  China,  and  moreover 
was  a  physician  and  not  a  clergyman.  But  the  Secre- 
tary objected  on  the  ground  that  I  was  nevertheless  a 
missionary,  and  the  Government  was  at  that  time 
anxious  to  avoid  objection  from  the  Japanese  on  re- 
ligious grounds. 

On  being  made  aware  of  the  wishes  of  the  Board 
in  this  matter  I  watched  for  an  opportunity  to  visit 
Japan.  It  was  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War ;  and 
the  year  of  the  terrible  earthquake  in  Japan  in  which 
it  was  reported  that  in  the  city  of  Yedo  (now  called 
Tokyo)  alone  14,000  persons  had  perished.  During 
the  tidal  waves  that  accompanied  the  earthquake,  the 
Russian  frigate  "  Diana "  had  been  sunk  in  the 
Harbor  of  Shimoda,  and  several  hundred  officers  and 
men  left  stranded  on  a  foreign  shore.  Hearing  that  a 
German  merchant  vessel  had  been  chartered  at  Shang- 
hai to  go  to  Japan  as  a  storeship  for  the  Anglo-French 
fleet,  I  bade  good-bye  to  my  wife,  and  taking  a  medi- 

147 


148  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

cine  chest  with  some  clothing  and  a  few  necessary 
articles  started  by  the  shortest  route  across  the  coun- 
try to  Shanghai,  where  I  lost  no  time  in  arranging 
with  the  German  captain  to  be  taken  to  Japan  and 
landed  at  Shimoda,  Nagasaki,  Hakodate,  or  any  other 
available  port.  But  the  French  Admiral,  learning  that 
the  German  captain  had  agreed  to  give  me  passage, 
forbade  it  on  the  ground  that  I  was  an  American,  and 
Americans  were  supposed  to  be  pro-Russian  in  their 
sympathies  at  that  time.  So  I  had  to  return  to 
Ningpo  by  the  way  I  had  come. 

I  next  attempted  to  induce  a  Ningpo  merchant  to 
send  his  schooner  to  Japan  on  a  trading  voyage  with 
me  as  passenger  or  supercargo,  but  the  reports  we  had 
received  of  the  unfriendly  attitude  of  the  Japanese 
toward  all  trade  and  foreign  intercourse  discouraged 
the  merchant,  and  he  gave  it  up ;  and  so  perforce  did  I. 


XXI 
MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JAPAN 

THE  summer  of  1861  proved  to  be  an  unusually 
sickly  one  at  Ningpo,  and  both  my  wife  and 
myself  were  seriously  ill.  My  good  friend  R. 
M.  Olyphant,  Esq.,  of  Shanghai,  put  it  in  my  power 
to  take  a  voyage  to  Japan  in  order  to  recruit.  Ac- 
cordingly we  left  Shanghai  in  the  latter  part  of  No- 
vember in  a  small  American  brig,  the  "  What  Cheer," 
which  was  bound  to  San  Francisco  via  Yokohama. 
There  were  on  board  the  "  What  Cheer,"  besides  our- 
selves, the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Bridg- 
man,  and  several  other  passengers.  The  voyage  was 
a  tolerably  comfortable  one  until  we  had  passed  suf- 
ficiently near  to  Odawara  Bay  to  see  the  snow-covered 
top  of  Fujiyama  standing  like  a  cone  of  polished 
silver  above  the  watery  horizon;  but  that  evening  a 
violent  N.  W.  gale  commenced  to  blow,  and  although 
we  were  near  enough  to  Vries  Island  (Oshima)  to  see 
the  flashes  from  its  volcano,  we  were  obliged  to  put 
about  and  run  out  to  sea  again,  and  did  not  get  back 
and  let  go  our  anchor  at  Yokohama  until  ten  days 
afterwards :  by  the  end  of  that  time  we  were  on  short 
allowance  of  water,  and  had  been  living  during  the 
past  week  upon  bread,  potatoes,  and  sardines,  as  our 
captain  had  laid  in  but  a  scanty  supply  of  provisions. 
In  all  the  many  voyages  which  I  have  made  I  have 

149 


150  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

never  had  a  more  trying  one ;  and  we  landed  in  Yoko- 
hama, in  a  weak  and  dyspeptic  state,  from  which  it 
was  several  weeks  before  we  recovered  entirely.  We 
anchored  at  Yokohama  on  a  bright,  sunny  morning,  a 
few  days  before  Christmas.  The  luxuriant  evergreen 
foliage  on  the  bluffs  gave  a  quite  unwintry  appear- 
ance to  the  scene,  which  was  not  at  all  diminished  by 
the  sight  on  board  a  Japanese  junk  of  a  sailor  at  work 
stripped  to  his  waist  cloth.  A  few  evenings  after  this, 
although  a  light  snow  was  on  the  ground,  I  met  five 
Japanese,  as  completely  divested  of  clothing  as  the 
sailor  was,  trotting  along,  all  five  abreast,  and  keeping 
time  to  the  tinkling  of  a  bell  in  the  hand  of  one  of 
them.  They  seemed  to  be  undergoing  some  sort  of 
penance. 

We  went  first,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  the  home 
of  our  friends  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  who,  with  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Hepburn,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Ballagh, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goble,*  were  living  in  a  group  of 
buildings  in  the  Jobutsuji  Temple  in  Kanagawa. 

After  a  few  days  I  rented  a  house  for  three  months, 
and  commenced  house-keeping  in  Japan.  Prices  and 
wages  were  far  cheaper  in  1861  than  now.  I  paid  my 
cook  and  his  wife  between  four  and  five  dollars  a 
month,  (they  finding  themselves),  and  my  betto,  or 
horse-boy,  for  wages,  and  horse  feed,  six  dollars  a 
month.  A  horse  seemed  to  be  a  necessity,  the  only 
other  modes  of  getting  about  being  walking  or  going 
by  boat.  When  we  went  to  the  weekly  prayer  meet- 
ing at  the  Jobutsuji  at  Kanagawa,  we  had  to  go  a 

*  Mr.  Goble  had  been  a  marine  on  one  of  Commodore 
Perry's  squadron. 


MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JAPAN  161 

couple  of  miles,  more  or  less,  in  a  native  boat,  and 
when  we  were  going  from  the  jetty  at  Kanagawa  the 
guards  or  police  at  the  jetty  would  sometimes  put  on 
their  swords  and  convoy  us  across  the  Tokiado, — the 
great  thoroughfare  between  the  western  and  eastern 
capitals  (Tokyo,  and  Saikyo  or  Kyoto,)  travelled  by 
the  Daimyos  and  their  retinues;  for  sometimes  for- 
eigners had  been  cut  down  by  the  two-sworded  fol- 
lowers of  those  Daimyos,  who  were  hostile  to  the 
opening  of  Japan  to  western  nations.  None  of  our 
missionaries  had  been  attacked  or  injured,  excepting 
Mrs.  Hepburn,  who  when  returning  with  Dr.  Hep- 
bum  and  other  missionaries  to  the  Jobutsuji  in  Kana- 
gawa, was  struck  a  very  severe  blow  upon  the 
shoulders  by  a  club  in  the  hands  of  a  ruffian  who  came 
behind  her  in  the  dark.  The  blow  was  doubtless  in- 
tended to  strike  her  head,  but  though  the  injury  was 
painful  for  some  time,  it  did  not  prove  serious. 

When  we  got  into  our  own  hired  house  at  Yoko- 
hama, I  went  to  the  Custom  house  to  get  our  baggage, 
which  had  been  stored  in  the  Custom  house  godowns 
(or  storehouses),  and  finding  no  one  there  who  un- 
derstood the  English  language,  took  a  piece  of  paper, 
and  with  a  Chinese  pencil  or  brush,  wrote  in  Chinese 
my  name,  country,  and  profession,  and  my  purpose  to 
remain  a  while  in  Japan,  and  that  the  trunks,  etc., 
were  personal  effects  only,  and  not  merchandise  for 
sale.  Three  Japanese  men  came  forward,  who  had 
been  linguists  or  interpreters  of  the  Chinese  at  Naga- 
saki, and  who  spoke  in  the  Chapu  dialect,  with  which 
I  was  quite  familiar.  These  men  were  anxious  to 
learn  English,  and  from  that  time  came  to  my  house 


152  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

in  the  evening,  two  or  three  times  a  week,  for  that 
purpose.  One  of  them  in  particular  was  very  willing 
to  do  anything  in  his  power  to  show  his  appreciation 
of  the  favors.  Our  Superintendent  of  the  Mission 
Printing  Press  at  Shanghai,  William  Gamble,  A.M., 
was  anxious  to  make  a  set  of  matrices  for  a  font  of 
the  Japanese  hiragana  characters,  and  had  given  me  a 
block  of  yellow  boxwood,  ruled  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  the  characters  cut  in  Japan.  This  my  Japan- 
ese scholar  got  done  for  me;  and  just  before  I  left 
Yokohama  he  came  at  night  disguised  and  without 
his  swords,  and  gave  the  block  to  me,  remarking  that 
it  might  cost  him  his  head  if  he  were  discovered.* 

There  were  in  Yokohama,  in  1861-62,  besides  my- 
self, three  men,  English  and  American,  who  professed 
to  be  Christians  and  willing  to  do  anything  in  their 
power  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  Japanese.  We 
tried  to  compose  a  short  tract  in  Japanese,  but  when 
we  translated  it  back  into  English  we  foimd  that  it 
sounded  so  little  like  what  we  intended  that  we  were 
discouraged.  Moreover,  it  was  contrary  to  the  es- 
tablished regulations  to  circulate  Christian  books,  or 
for  Japanese  to  have  them  in  their  possession  under 
penalty  of  death.  A  missionary  from  China,  passing 
through  Yokohama,  distributed  a  number  of  Chris- 

*  Ten  years  after  this  when  I  went  ashore  at  Nagasaki 
with  the  Chinese  judge  of  the  Shanghai  Mixed  Court  on 
our  w^ay  to  Tokio  in  reference  to  the  three  hundred 
Canton  coolies  who  had  been  rescued  from  the  Peruvian 
ship  "  Maria  Luz,"  my  old  Japanese  friend  was  there  and 
asked  the  Chinese  judge  if  he  knew  a  man  named  Mc- 
Cartee.  The  judge,  turning  about,  pointed  me  out  to  my 
quondam  friend  in  Yokohama. 


MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JAPAN  153 

tian  tracts  (in  Chinese)  in  the  vicinity  of  Yokohama, 
but  they  were  all  collected  and  brought  to  the  U.  S. 
Consul,  with  an  official  complaint  against  such  an  in- 
fraction of  the  Governmental  Regulations.  Some 
Japanese  from  the  country  wandered,  out  of  curiosity, 
into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Yokohama  and 
were  kindly  treated  by  the  French  priest,  who  showed 
and  explained  to  them  the  pictures  that  were  on  the 
walls.  They  were  all  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison ; 
and  it  was  only  after  some  months  and  strong 
remonstrances  on  the  part  of  the  foreign  envoys,  that 
they  were  finally  released.  Some  years  after  this  Dr. 
Hepburn  removed  to  Yokohama,  opened  a  dispensary, 
and  was  not  interfered  with  in  distributing  tracts. 
Those  which  he  distributed  were  in  the  Chinese 
language  which,  of  course,  were  only  intelligible  to 
those  who  had  a  very  high  education,  but  they  were 
much  sought  after,  and  he  imported  several  thousands 
from  Shanghai.* 

*The  one  which  he  hoped  the  most  from  was  the 
"  Easy  Introduction  to  Christian  Doctrine."  It  had  a 
very  extensive  circulation  in  China,  where  it  has  gone 
through  a  great  many  (25  or  30)  editions,  and  is  still  a 
standard  tract.  It  has  also  been  translated  into  the 
Korean  language,  where  the  missionaries  sell  their  tracts. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  executed  a  version  of  it  in  Japan- 
ese, and  had  it  copied  in  manuscript  in  the  "  Majiri,"  or 
mixed  Japanese  and  Chinese  characters.  The  translation 
was  amended  and  published  in  Japan  afterwards,  both  in 
Majiri  and  in  Roman  letters,  by  the  British  and  American 
Tract  Societies.  The  title  has  been  changed  into  "  Ma- 
koto  no  Michi  no  Hayawakari,"  or  "  The  Way  of  Faith 
Familiarly  Explained,"  under  which  it  has  gone  through 
several  more  editions. 


154  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Our  U.  S.  Commissioner,  the  Hon.  Townsend  Har- 
ris, was  at  Yedo,  the  only  foreigner  residing  there  at 
that  time.  The  British,  Dutch,  and  French  repre- 
sentatives, thinking  that  the  Government  was  not 
willing,  or  had  not  the  power,  to  protect  them,  had 
removed  to  Yokohama  for  an  indefinite  period.  Mr. 
Harris,  however,  considering  it  his  duty  to  do  so,  re- 
mained in  Yedo.*  No  foreigner  could  at  that  time  go 
to  Yedo,  except  on  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Harris,  or 
from  one  of  the  other  representatives,  but  Mr.  Harris 
(whom  I  had  known  before  he  came  to  Japan), 
having  invited  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  Rev.  Dr. 
Pitkin,  a  visitor  in  Japan,  and  myself,  all  Americans, 
to  spend  a  week  with  him  at  Yedo,  we  started  to- 
gether in  the  morning  from  Kanagawa,  on  horseback, 
with  our  hettos,  and  escorted  by  a  mounted  guard  of 
six  armed  yakunin,  or  officers.  We  travelled  by  the 
Tokaido  (Eastern  Sea  Road),  crossing  the  Rokugo 
River  near  Kawasaki  in  flat  ferry  boats,  and  reached 
the  Zempukuji  t  in  about  five  hours.  We  found  Mr. 
Harris  safe  and  well.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Portman, 
the  interpreter,  came  over  from  his  side  of  the  temple, 
and  spent  the  evening  with  us.  He  said  that  he  had 
not  ventured  to  leave  his  own  quarters  at  night,  even 
to  go  to  Mr.  Harris,  in  some  two  or  three  months. 
The  Legation  was  filled  with  "  crowds  of  two- 
sworded  men,  who  lived  in  the  very  grounds  and 
courtyards,"  who,  Mr.  Adams  says,  "  were  mere  spies, 

*  See  Francis  Ottiwell  Adams'  "  History  of  Japan," 
Vol.  I,  p.  131. 

t  The  name  of  the  old  temple  in  which  Mr,  Harris  was 
residing. 


MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JAPAN  155 

almost  useless  for  defensive  purposes,"  and  were  even 
part  of  a  system  of  persistent  isolation  to  drive  the 
representatives  away  from  the  city,  preparatory  to 
an  attempt  to  rid  the  country  of  every  single  for- 
eigner." The  British  Legation  linguist  had  been 
murdered  in  January,  1860;  the  American  Legation 
Interpreter,  Mr.  Heusken,  had  been  cut  down,  and 
murdered  in  January,  1861 ;  a  little  more  than  twelve 
months  before  the  time  of  our  visit.  Mr.  Harris  was 
a  devout  and  consistent  Episcopalian,  who  read  aloud 
on  each  Sunday  the  services  appointed  for  the  day.* 
The  next  day  I  excused  myself  to  my  hosts  and  fellow 
guests,  and  started  early  for  Kanagawa,  escorted  by 
four  two-sworded  mounted  officers,  and  reached  the 
end  of  my  journey  safely.  The  following  day  I 
learned  that  a  message  from  the  officials  had  reached 
the  United  States  Legation,  a  few  minutes  after  I  had 
left,  requesting  Mr.  Harris,  for  weighty  reasons,  not 
specified,  to  abstain  from  taking  his  usual  ride  that 
morning;  and  upon  his  manifesting  an  unwillingness 
to  comply  without  any  reason  being  assigned,  it  trans- 
pired that  Ando,  the  daimyo,  or  prince,  of  Tsushima, 
who  had  shown  himself  favorable  to  the  maintenance 
of  foreign  relations,  had  been  assassinated.  He,  how- 
ever, recovered  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  but, 
like  the  late  Prince  Iwakura,  after  a  similar  experi- 
ence, soon  retired  from  the  post  which  he  had  held  as 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  t 

*  See  "  Townsend  Harris,"  by  Griffis. 

t  The  account  of  the  repeated  attacks  upon  the  British 
Legation  at  Tokyo  and  at  Goten  Yama,  and  the  with- 
drawal from  Ycdo  of  Mr,  Harris's  successor,  Mr,  Pruyn, 


156  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

Mr.  Harris's  fearless,  persevering,  and  successful 
efforts  for  the  opening  of  Japan  to  Western  inter- 
course were  not  characterized  by  any  selfish  obstruct- 
iveness,  so  far  as  concerned  the  interests  of  other 
nationalities  than  his  own.  On  the  contrary,  he 
rendered  to  H.  B.  M.'s  Envoy,  Lord  Elgin,  every 
facility  in  his  power,  and  put  his  official  interpreter, 
Mr.  Heusken,  at  Lord  Elgin's  service.  His  friendly 
services  were  appreciated,  and  graciously  acknowl- 
edged by  H.  B.  Majesty,  who  sent  to  Mr.  Harris,  in 
token  thereof,  an  elegant  gold  watch.  Mr.  Harris 
also  rendered  the  same  service  to  His  Prussian  Ma- 
jesty's Envoy,  Count  Eutenberg,  and  it  was  in  return- 
ing from  a  gathering  of  Japanese  and  Prussian  of- 
ficials at  the  Prussian  Legation  that  Mr.  Heusken  met 
his  death.* 


on  account  of  the  burning  (in  part)  of  the  U.  S.  Legation, 
and  warnings  received  threatening  attack,  may  be  found 
in  F.  O.  Adams'  "  History  of  Japan." 

*  When  I  first  went  to  Japan  I  did  not  take  a  pistol 
with  me,  but  after  arriving  there  I  found  that  every  man 
among  the  foreigners — almost  without  exception — carried 
a  pistol,  and  I  was  strongly  advised  to  do  so  also.  I 
heard  of  a  pistol,  being  for  sale  in  a  store  in  Yokohama, 
and  bought  it.  It  was  a  large  navy  six-shooter,  with  an 
ivory  stock,  and  I  found  that  it  had  belonged  to  Mr. 
Heusken,  who  had  been  dining  at  the  Prussian  Legation, 
and  being  in  full  dress,  had  ventured  to  leave  his  pistol 
at  home.  Being  unarmed  when  attacked,  he  was  cut 
down  and  fatally  wounded,  a  few  months  previous  to  my 
visit  to  Yedo.  Mr.  Heusken's  grave  is  at  the  temple 
called  Korinji,  or  Jigenzan,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  little 
river  Furukawa,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  former  Eng- 
lish Legation  in  the  Takanawa  suburbs  of  Tokyo. 


MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  JAPAN  157 

In  April,  1862,  the  steamer  "  Scotland  "  came  from 
Shanghai.  Her  flag  had  been  recently  changed  by  the 
Chinese  owners  from  the  American  to  the  British  flag 
for  fear  of  capture  by  the  English,  but  the  captain 
was  an  American.  There  was  great  excitement  at 
that  time  owing  to  the  affair  of  the  British  steamer 
"  Trent,"  which  our  Admiral  Wilkes  had  stopped  to 
take  from  her  the  confederate  emissaries,  Slidell  and 
Mason,  and  war,  it  was  thought,  would  certainly  be 
declared.  H.  B.  M.'s  Minister  induced  the  Japanese 
authorities  to  take  away  the  "  Scotland's  "  Inland  Sea 
pilot,  together  with  her  ship's  papers  and  would  only 
give  her  a  sailing  letter  to  Hong  Kong  direct.  The 
British  merchants  would  not  give  her  any  cargo,  nor 
would  the  British  insurance  companies  insure  her. 
The  steamer  was  mulcted  fifty  pounds  sterling  for 
each  seaman  shipped  on  her  articles,  although  they 
had  all  been  re-shipped  before  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul  at 
Shanghai,  and  it  was  not  illegal  for  a  ship  flying  the 
British  flag  to  have  an  American  captain. 

Lady  Franklin,  widow  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  the 
lost  Arctic  explorer,  and  her  niece.  Miss  Craycroft, 
wished  to  go  in  the  "  Scotland  "  to  Shanghai,  and  we 
too  had  determined  to  go  in  that  vessel.  As  she  had 
left  her  sails  at  Nagasaki,  we  went  there,  but  she  was 
refused  a  passage  through  the  Inland  Sea,  and  had  a 
very  rough  passage  outside.  At  Nagasaki  we  spent 
two  days  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Verbeck,  and  renewing  our  old  acquaint- 
anceship with  Bishop  Williams,  and  reached  Shanghai 
comfortably  in  due  time. 


XXII 
PROLONGED  RESIDENCE  IN  JAPAN,  1872-1880 

IN  1870  the  Hon.  George  F.  Seward,  United  States 
Consul  General  at  Shanghai,  came  to  Ningpo 
with  Mrs.  Seward,  and  stayed  a  few  days  at  my 
house.  The  interpreter  to  the  Consulate  General  had 
died,  after  a  lingering  illness,  and  Mr.  Seward  asked 
me  to  take  his  place.  I  declined  with  thanks,  but  went 
up  to  Shanghai,  and  got  up  the  arrears  of  the  Chinese 
correspondence,  and  recommended  as  interpreter  an 
American  clerical  missionary  who  was  a  very  fluent 
speaker  of  the  colloquial  dialect  of  Shanghai.  In 
1872  at  the  recommendation  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board,  I  removed  with  my  family  to  Shanghai,  to  act 
as  editor  for  the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press.  The 
regular  interpreter  of  the  United  States  Consulate 
General  was  absent  in  Europe  on  leave,  and  at  Mr. 
Seward's  request  I  took  the  interpreter's  place  in  the 
Consulate,  and  also  acted  as  United  States  Assessor 
(or  CO- judge,  as  the  British  Assessor  was  styled)  in 
the  Mixed  Court.  At  that  time,  a  Peruvian  vessel, 
the  "  Maria  Luz,"  with  300  Chinese  coolies,  on  her 
way  from  Macao  to  Peru,  was  driven  by  a  typhoon 
into  the  harbour  of  Yokohama.  Some  of  the  coolies 
jumped  overboard  and  swam  to  H.  B.  M.'s  ship 
"  Iron  Duke,"  Captain  Arthur  ( from  whom  Port 
Arthur  has  since  been  named,)  and  appealed  for  help 

158 


l^iROLONGED  RESllDENCE  IN  JAPAN    169 

and  rescue.  The  cruelties  practised  upon  the  Chinese 
at  the  Chincha  Islands  had  become  known  at  that 
time.  After  a  consultation  with  the  British  and 
American  Charges  d' Affaires,  the  Japanese  authori- 
ties interfered,  and  rescued  the  coolies.  I  represented 
to  the  Taotai  at  Shanghai,  that  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment ought  not  to  allow  these  300  men  to  remain  a 
charge  to  the  Japanese,  but  should  send  over  at  once 
an  officer  or  officers,  and  bring  back  the  coolies  to 
China.  The  Taotai  memorialized  the  Viceroy  at  Nan- 
king. The  Viceroy,  although  a  native  of  Kwangtung, 
had  apparently  never  had  his  attention  called  to  the 
subject  before,  but  when  he  learned  about  the  Macao 
coolie  trade,  and  about  the  300  coolies  from  his  native 
province,  he  at  once  sent  down  orders  that  the  Chinese 
judge  of  the  Mixed  Court  should  go  to  Japan  and 
receive  the  coolies,  and  that  I  should  be  asked  to  go 
with  him  as  adviser.  I  was  very  glad  to  accept  the 
appointment,  and  took  with  me  my  family  and  went 
with  the  Judge  in  the  steamer  "  Costa  Rica."  The 
Japanese  Vice-Consul  at  Shanghai  also  came  with  us. 
It  had  been  some  centuries  since  an  envoy  from  China 
had  been  sent  to  Japan ;  and  the  Japanese  authorities 
treated  us  with  great  distinction.  They  lodged  the 
Judge  and  myself  in  the  Enriokwan  (where  the  Duke 
of  Edinburgh  had  been  entertained,  and  where  Gen- 
eral Grant  was  afterwards  entertained).  We  had 
several  interviews  with  H.  E.  Soyejima,  President  of 
the  Gwaimusho,  or  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
We  accomplished  our  errand  successfully  and  speed- 
ily ;  and  after  the  coolies  had  been  safely  received  at 
Shanghai  I  received  a  handsome  gold  medal  and  the 


160  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

following    complimentary    letter    from    the    Chinese 
authorities  :* 

UNiTiiD  States  Consulate  Gknerai. 

Shanghai,  February  10,  1873. 
Dr.  D.  B.  McCartee, 
Yedo,  Japan. 
Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have  received 
from  His  Excellency  Shen  Tan  Tai  at  this  port,  under 
date  of  28th  ultimo,  a  dispatch — accompanied  by  a 
golden  medal  presented  to  you  through  His  Excel- 
lency, the  Superintendent  of  Trade,  for  the  Southern 
ports,  in  acknowledgment  of  your  valuable  services  as 
Adviser  and  Interpreter  to  the  delegate  Chen  Foh 
Hyen  who  was  sent  to  Japan  in  1872  to  receive  the 
Chinese  coolies  who  were  rescued  from  the  Peruvian 
vessel  "  Maria  Luz  "  in  the  harbor  of  Yokohama. 

It  is  gratifying  to  me  to  be  the  medium  of  convey- 
ance to  you  of  this  attention  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese 
Government  and  I  take  the  opportunity  to  record  in 
the  name  of  humanity  and  civilization  my  own  ap- 
preciation of  your  earnest  attention,  ability  and  wise 
discretion  exercised  in  connection  with  an  event  which 
will  stand  prominent  in  the  annals  of  Japan  and  China 
as  a  measure  in  the  interests  of  civiHzation  and  one 
in  derogation  of  a  nefarious  traffic  in  the  bodies  of 
human  beings  under  the  garb  of  emigration. 

I  will  be  pleased  to  convey  to  the  Chinese  officials 
such  response  as  you  may  deem  appropriate  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  receipt  of  the  medal  named 
which  accompanies  this  dispatch. 

It  will  please  you  to  know  that  the  delegate  Chen 
has  received  a  promotion  from  Peking  as  a  reward 
for  his  careful  action  under  the  charge  entrusted  to 
him. 

I  am,  your  obedient  servant, 

O.  F.  Bradford, 
Vice  Consul  General. 


PROLONGED  RESIDENCE  IN  JAPAN    161 

Dr.  Verbeck  was  then  adviser  to  the  "  Mombusho," 
or  Department  of  Education,  and  the  Director  of  the 
High  School,  afterwards  the  Imperial  University  of 
Tokyo.  At  his  advice  the  Educational  Authorities  ap- 
pointed me  professor  of  law  and  natural  sciences  in 
that  school,  at  a  salary  of  $200  gold  per  month.  This 
salary  they  increased  several  times  until  during  the 
last  three  years  it  amounted  to  $320  per  month,  with 
a  house.  During  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Hatakeyama  I 
also  did  quite  an  amount  of  extra  work  in  arranging 
the  Botanical  Garden  at  Koishikawa,  in  organizing  the 
Library,  in  collecting  specimens  of  Natural  History  to 
be  sent  for  exchange  to  the  Centennial  Exposition  at 
Philadelphia,  in  1876,  and  in  acting  as  foreign  adviser 
to  the  Normal  School  for  females.  Mrs.  McCartee 
and  I  were  always  treated  with  distinguished  consid- 
eration by  the  officers  of  the  Educational  Department, 
and  on  leaving  Japan  we  received  many  beautiful 
presents.  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  get  on  particularly 
well  with  the  students.  Some  of  them,  owing  to  the 
sneers  of  other  foreigners,  were  at  first  disposed  to 
speak  disparagingly  of  Christianity  and  especially  of 
the  doctrine  of  a  personal  God;  but  the  evidence  of 
design,  as  shown  in  my  lectures  on  biology,  etc.,  was 
so  convincing  to  them  all,  that  finally  a  student  of  one 
of  the  higher  classes  told  me  that  all  his  class  believed 
in  a  personal  God. 

I  resigned  my  position  in  the  Tokyo  University 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Hatakeyama,  and  returned  to 
China  in  April,  1877,  where  I  was  called  upon  to  dis- 
charge the  functions  of  Vice-Consul  General,  Asses- 
sor of  the  United  States  in  the  Mixed  Court,  and  to 


162  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

be  in  charge  of  postal  affairs  in  the  United  States 
Consulate  General.  I  found  all  these  duties  too  oner- 
ous and  overwhelming,  and  was  glad  to  resign  all 
these  appointments,  and  to  accept  the  appointment  of 
Foreign  Adviser  to  the  Chinese  Legation  to  Japan 
with  the  rank  of  Secretary  of  Legation. 

One  of  the  Envoys,  Chang  Sz'kwei,  was  an  old 
friend  at  Ningpo.  Several  years  before,  he  had 
wished  me  to  teach  him  English,  and  when  I  asked 
him  why  he  wished  to  study  the  English  language,  he 
said,  to  be  able  to  read  our  scientific  books.  I  ad- 
vised him  not  to  attempt  it,  as  he  was  between  fifty- 
five  and  sixty  years  of  age,  but  offered  instead  to  give 
him  lectures  on  chemistry  and  physics.  He  accepted 
my  offer,  and  for  a  long  time  came  three  evenings  in 
the  week  to  my  house.  We  worked  together  until  a 
late  hour.  He  made  very  fair  progress  in  the  elements 
of  Western  science,  and  induced  the  guild  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  officers  to  purchase  a  foreign 
steamer  to  be  used  in  conveying  the  junks  carrying 
the  Imperial  tribute  to  Tientsin,  in  order  to  protect 
them  against  pirates.  The  "  Paoshun "  was  taken 
into  the  Imperial  service  when  the  T'aiping  rebels 
were  ravaging  the  ports  on  the  Yang-tsz  river,  and  in 
that  way  Mr.  Chang  became  an  officer  in  the  Imperial 
service.  We  used  to  correspond  after  I  went  to 
Tokyo;  and  in  one  of  my  letters  to  him  I  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  Chinese  Government  ought  to 
have  a  representative  in  Japan,  and  that  he  should 
obtain  the  appointment  of  Chinese  Consul  General.  I 
left  Japan  during  the  year  after  this  and  was  in  the 
United  States  Consular  Service  in  Shanghai.    While 


PROLONGED  RESIDENCE  IN  JAPAN    163 

I  was  so  employed,  Their  Excellencies  Ho  and  Chang 
were  appointed  Minister  and  Vice-Minister,  or  En- 
voys, to  Japan,  and  upon  their  arrival  in  Shanghai, 
Mr.  Chang  called  upon  me  to  propose  that  I  should 
accompany  them  to  Japm  as  adviser  to  the  Legation. 
The  engagement  was  to  be  for  three  years  and  the 
salary  400  taels  per  month.  With  the  consent  of  the 
U.  S.  Consul  General,  I  accepted  the  appointment. 

Upon  arrival  at  Nagasaki  I  learned  of  the  envoys 
that  their  whole  suite  consisted  of  some  eighty  per- 
sons, and  I  suggested  that  I  should  go  at  once  to 
Yokohama  in  a  steamer  that  was  just  about  leaving 
Nagasaki,  and  make  arrangements  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  Legation.  This  their  Excellencies  ap- 
proved of,  and  I  started  immediately.  Upon  reaching 
Yokohama,  I  went  at  once  to  Tokyo,  and  going  to  the 
Foreign  Office,  announced  the  speedy  arrival  of  the 
Chinese  envoys,  and  arranged  with  the  officials  that  a 
building*  near  the  railway  station  at  Yokohama, 
where  H.  I.  J.  M.  stopped  when  he  went  to  Yoko- 
hama, should  be  set  apart  for  their  use.  When  the 
"  Haian  "  arrived  in  Yokohama  I  went  on  board  at 
once,  and  the  next  day  went  with  the  Envoys  and 
their  Secretary  of  Legation  to  Tokyo,  and  introduced 
them  to  the  officers  of  the  Foreign  Office.  In  looking 
for  a  place  for  the  Legation  in  Tokyo,  I  found  that 
some  Chinese  in  Japan  were  interfering  and  trying  to 
make  money  out  of  any  bargain  that  I  attempted  to 
make.  A  certain  Japanese  came  to  us  and  proposed 
to  rent  to  us  a  temple  with  its  outbuildings,  situated 
where  the  Shiba  Kwankoba,  or  bazaar,  now  is.  I  im- 
*  An  Imperial  "  rest  house." 


164     AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

mediately  sent  him  down  to  Yokohoma  with  a  note  to 
the  Secretary  of  Legation,  asking  the  Secretary  to 
consult  with  H.  E.  Mr.  Ho,  and  if  H.  E.  thought  well 
of  it,  to  come  up  alone  the  next  morning  and  go  with 
me  to  the  proposed  location  and  that  if  he  liked  it,  he 
and  I  should  decide  to  take  tiie  place  and  pay  down 
some  bargain  money,  and  secure  the  place.  He  did  so, 
and  we  took  the  place,  thus  outwitting  the  middlemen. 

The  Embassy  brought  from  China  two  men  as  in- 
terpreters who  had  been  for  a  short  time  in  Japan  in 
business,  but  they  proved  so  incompetent  that  I  had 
not  only  to  act  as  interpreter  for  the  Minister,  but 
for  a  considerable  time  I  had  to  translate  into  Chinese 
all  the  French  title  deeds  and  correspondence  relating 
to  the  Chinese  residing  in  Yokohama. 

As  I  had  all  along  anticipated  that  a  controversy 
would  arise  between  the  Chinese  Envoy  and  the  Jap- 
anese authorities  with  regard  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Loochoo  Islands,  I  went  around  among  the  old 
book  stores  in  Tokyo,  and  bought  up  every  book  or 
map  I  could  find,  and  studied  them  carefully.  His 
Excellency  joked  me  about  my  studiousness  and  ad- 
vised me  to  take  life  easy.  I  told  him  that  I  had  been 
a  student  all  my  life,  and  that  study  had  become  a 
second  nature  to  me.  The  Loochooan  commissioners 
came  to  the  Chinese  Envoys  to  ask  their  aid  in  pre- 
venting the  Japanese  Government  from  abolishing 
the  laws  of  Loochoo  and  displacing  their  king  and 
officers  and  substituting  Japanese  officials  in  their 
stead.  The  Chinese  Envoys  were  so  indignant  at  the 
high-handed  usurpation  and  discourteous  utterances 
of  the  Japanese  that  His  Excellency  Ho  wrote  a  very 


PROLONGED  RESIDENCE  IN  JAPAN    165 

sharp  despatch  to  the  Japanese  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs — which  he  showed  to  me.  I  suggested  to  His 
Excellency  that  if  he  sent  that  despatch  to  the  Japan- 
ese officials  they  would  at  once  send  a  force  to 
Loochoo  and  take  absolute  possession  of  the  Islands ; 
but  His  Excellency  having  been  used  to  the  tedious 
temporizing  in  the  diplomatic  discussions  at  Peking 
thought  that  the  Japanese  would  not  resort  to  such 
measures  while  the  subject  was  still  under  discussion, 
and  refused  to  recall  the  despatches.  The  Japanese, 
however,  did  as  I  had  predicted,  and  His  Excellency 
then  asked  me  how  it  was  that  I  knew  that  the  Japan- 
ese would  do  this.  I  replied  that  I  had  not  heard  that 
they  would  do  so,  but  that  it  seemed  to  me  most  nat- 
ural that  they  would  do  so.  His  Excellency  threat- 
ened to  haul  down  his  flag  and  leave  Japan,  and  for  a 
time  it  looked  as  if  there  might  be  war  between  the 
two  countries. 

Meanwhile  General  Grant,  who  had  been  in  China, 
and  had  been  asked  by  Li  Hung  Chang  to  mediate 
between  China  and  Japan,  arrived  in  Japan  with  Mrs. 
Grant  and  his  son,  Col.  F.  D.  Grant,  and  the  Hon. 
John  Russell  Young.  The  Japanese  merchants  and 
people  in  Tokyo  decorated  the  whole  city  in  his  honor, 
and  Messrs.  (Baron)  Hachisuka,  Shibusawa,  and 
others  as  a  committee,  met  him  at  Shim.bashi — as  did 
a  Committee  of  the  American  residents  in  Tokyo,  of 
which  I  had  the  honor  to  be  chairman.  Our  com- 
mittee co-operated  with  the  Japanese  merchants' 
committee,  who  asked  me  to  correct  the  English  ver- 
sion of  their  address  of  welcome  and  read  it  to  Gen- 
eral  Grant  at   the   Railway   Station — which   I   did. 


166  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

General  and  Mrs.  Grant  were  taken  to  the  Enriokwan, 
where  they  remained  until  they  visited  Nikko.  The 
Americans  held  a  grand  fete  or  levee  at  the  Seiyoken 
at  Ueno,  and  almost  every  American  resident  in 
Tokyo,  including  the  United  States  Minister  Bing- 
ham, and  many  from  Yokohama  and  the  officers  of 
the  United  States  ships  of  war,  were  presented  to 
General  Grant  by  the  chairman.* 

I  saw,  perhaps,  more  of  General  Grant  than  did 
most  of  the  Americans  in  Japan.  He  spoke  to  me  of 
the  dispute  between  China  and  Japan,  and  said  he  was 
not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  history  and  geog- 
raphy, etc.,  of  the  Loochoo  Islands  to  act  as  mediator 
or  arbitrator.  I  took  to  him  a  Japanese  book,  the 
"  Okinawa  Shi,"  or  History  of  Okinaw^a  (the  main  or 
great  Loochoo  Island)  and  told  him  that  both  sides 
seemed  unwilling  to  give  way ;  but  that  while  I  depre- 
cated war  I  could  see  no  way  to  compromise  unless  it 
were  by  drawing  a  line  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
Okinawa  and  another  at  the  most  northerly  of  the 
Mujishoshima,  or  Yayeyama  Islands,  leaving  a  strait 
of  some  sixty  miles  of  sea  between  them,  and  that 
although  such  a  division  was  unfair,  I  could  see  no 
other  way  to  compromise.  This  seemed  to  him  to  be 
as  reasonable  an  arrangement  as  could  be  devised  and 
he  suggested  it.  But  the  Japanese  would  not  take  it 
into  consideration.  A  document  purporting  to  be  a 
true  history  of  the  Loochoo  Islands  was  afterwards 


*  This  evening  party  is  erroneously  said  to  have  been 
given  to  General  Grant  by  the  Japanese.  "  History  of 
the  Empire  of  Japan,  for  the  use  of  visitors  to  the  Japan- 
ese section,  etc."    Translated  by  Capt.  Brinkley.    p.  401. 


PROLONGED  RESIDENCE  IN  JAPAN    167 

published  in  Mr.  House's  "  Tokyo  Times  "  (the  auth- 
orship of  which  was  attributed  to  a  high  Japanese 
official  and  intended  to  influence  General  Grant), 
which  contained  statements  professedly  taken  from 
the  "  Okinawa  Shi,"  but  so  garbled  that  I  felt  that 
my  relations  to  the  Chinese  Government  made  it  my 
duty  to  correct  them.  Accordingly  I  published  a  series 
of  letters  in  the  "  Japan  Gazette  "  under  the  title  of 
"Audi  Alteram  Partem,"  in  which  I  gave  counter 
statements  quoted  from  Japanese  books  and  maps. 
The  books  quoted  by  me  were,  some  of  them,  very 
old,  and  the  Japanese  did  not  suppose  that  any  for- 
eigner in  Japan  knew  of  them.  Mr.  Satow  was 
spoken  of  as  probably  the  author,  and  my  name  was 
also  suggested,  but  as  I  did  not  employ  any  Japanese 
teacher  there  was  no  one  from  whom  they  could  learn 
who  the  author  actually  was  until  they  afterwards 
learned  from  the  Chinese.  H.  E.  Ho  then  knew  why 
I  had  been  studying  so  carefully  and  had  the  pamphlet 
translated  into  Chinese  upon  which  Li  Hung  Chang 
sent  me  a  complimentary  message,  and  the  Chinese 
Government  gave  me  the  rank  of  Honorary  Consul 
General. 

Count  Inouye  afterwards  proposed  to  the  Chinese 
Government  a  treaty  based  on  the  suggestions  I  had 
made  to  General  Grant,  but  the  Chinese  Imperial 
Cabinet  were  then  opposed  to  it  and  the  statement  in 
the  "History  of  the  Empire  of  Japan"  that  "the 
weight  of  evidence  was  on  Japan's  side  "  and  that  by 
the  arbitration  of  General  Grant  ...  the  question 
was  settled  in  Japan's  favor  "  is  incorrect.* 

*  Op.  cit.  p.  404. 


XXIII 
MISSION  DAY  AND  BOARDING  SCHOOLS 

ALTHOUGH  nothing  is  said  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  enjoin  missionaries  to  establish  schools 
as  evangelizing  agencies,  or  to  lead  us  to  sup- 
pose that  schools  were  employed  in  the  early  ages  of 
the  Church  as  one  means  of  spreading  the  Gospel 
among  the  heathen,  yet  in  the  great  majority  of  in- 
stances one  of  the  first  things  that  a  missionary  at- 
tempts to  do  is  to  establish  a  day  or  boarding  school. 
The  reason  seems  to  be  that  the  missionary  is  anxious 
and  impatient  to  get  to  work  as  soon  as  possible.  He 
cannot  preach  as  yet,  and  learning  a  new  language  is 
slow  work ;  but  if  he  can  gather  a  number  of  children 
in  a  school  he  can,  in  most  cases,  find  some  Christian 
school  book,  and  some  native,  who  for  pecuniary  con- 
sideration will  consent  to  teach,  and  explain  more  or 
less  correctly,  to  the  scholars  the  Christian  text-books. 
Sometimes,  often  indeed,  in  the  case  of  day  scholars, 
a  few  cash  are  given  each  day,  or  a  midday  luncheon 
is  given  to  attract  scholars.  They  may  be  taught  to 
repeat  the  Lord's  prayer,  or  the  Creed,  or  Christian 
hymns,  which  may  possibly  result  in  the  conversion 
of  parents  or  friends ;  and  again,  if  a  preaching  serv- 
ice is  established,  the  school  children  may  form  the 
nucleus  of  a  congregation,  especially  if  they  have  been 
taught  to  sing  and  are  led  by  some  one  with  a  parlor 

168 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  169 

organ.  The  missionary  can  feel  that  here  he  or  she 
is  actually  doing  something,  and  is  also  learning  some- 
thing, and  becoming  fitted  for  other  kinds  of  mission- 
ary work.  Then  again,  when  a  single  Christian  fam- 
ily has  been  converted  in  a  village  where  the  people 
are  too  poor  to  support  or  hire  a  school  themselves  the 
missionaries  have  sometimes  sent  a  native  catechist 
and  his  wife  and  opened  a  day  school  there.  The 
school  gives  the  catechist  employment  enough  to  keep 
him  from  idleness,  and  the  neighbors  have  been  in- 
duced to  attend  family  worship,  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  a  church  has  resulted  in  more  than  one  in- 
stance. There  are,  however,  many  things  dishearten- 
ing at  times.  The  scholars  witness,  and  perhaps  par- 
ticipate in,  the  idolatries,  festivals,  and  processions 
of  their  heathen  relatives  and  neighbors,  and  these, 
moreover,  often  like  the  Jews  at  Antioch,  speak 
against  the  things  which  were  spoken  or  taught,  con- 
tradicting and  blaspheming.  Then  again  when  the 
scholars  are  of  a  sufficient  age  to  work  for  a  liveli- 
hood, they  are  taken  from  school,  and  "  the  thorns 
grow  up  and  choke  them  " ;  and  in  the  cases  of  girls 
who  have  been  betrothed  to  heathen  husbands,  when 
they  are  compelled  to  go  through  the  heathen  mar- 
riage ceremonies,  sad  suffering  to  the  poor  girls  and 
depressing  disappointment  to  the  missionaries  is  very 
apt  to  be  the  result. 

Mission  Boarding  Schools  are,  in  very  many  re- 
spects, different  from  day  schools.  The  scholars  in 
the  Chinese  Mission  boarding  schools  came  almost 
exclusively  from  poor  families  and  were  boarded  and 
clothed  by  the  Mission ;  and,  in  the  case  of  girls,  their 


170  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

parents  signed  indentures  placing  the  girl  in  the  school 
for  a  term  of  years,  and  binding  themselves  not  to 
betroth  the  girl  to  any  one  without  the  consent  of  the 
superintendent  of  the  school ;  but  the  parents  were  at 
liberty  to  take  away  their  daughters  upon  refunding  a 
reasonable  amount  for  their  board.  The  girls  enter 
the  school  quite  young,  are  comfortably  fed  and 
clothed,  and  are  not  hard  worked  nor  cruelly  treated ; 
and  when  they  have  made  a  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ,  Christian  husbands  are  sought  out  for  them. 
The  doctrines  they  are  taught  seem  right  and  good, 
and  they  know  nothing  practically  as  yet  of  the  truth 
of  the  saying :  "  All  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus 
shall  suffer  persecution."  II  Tim.  3 :12.  Why  then 
should  they  not  apply  for  baptism  to  gratify  their 
teachers  and  secure  all  these  benefits  for  themselves  ? 
So  they  apply  for  baptism.  Their  conduct  is  good 
and  they  study  well.  They  can  answer  all  the  ques- 
tions put  to  them  as  to  what  is  meant  by  believing  in 
Christ.  With  regard  to  some  there  seems  to  be  really 
every  encouragement  to  believe  that  they  are  among 
those  that  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  With  regard 
to  others,  all  we  can  do  is  to  rejoice  with  trembling; 
for  only  "  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His."  The 
history  of  Miss  Aldersey's  school,  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred elsewhere,  would  serve  to  prevent  us  from  re- 
joicing too  confidently. 

A  very  important  step  in  setting  out  is  to  provide 
ourselves  with  assistants  who  can  in  some  respects 
help  in  the  beginning  of  our  work.  I  have  spoken  of 
my  temple  boys,  whom  Mr.  W.  M.  Lowrie  speaks  of 
as  being  "  very  interesting  and  affectionate,"  and  my 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  171 

teacher  as  "  a  kind-hearted,  excellent  man,  almost  per- 
suaded to  be  a  Christian."  One  of  the  boys  positively- 
declined  to  join  his  family  in  idolatrous  rites  at  the 
New  Year's  sacrifices,  and  the  teacher  and  both  of 
the  boys  were  very  useful  in  the  mission  for  several 
years  afterwards.  I  established  a  day  school  in  a 
part  of  my  dispensary  building  adjoining  my  house  on 
the  North  Bank,  which  was  supported  for  two  years 
by  the  children  of  General  Sibley,  U.  S.  N.,  in  St. 
Charles,  Missouri,  I  think,  upon  the  suggestion  of  my 
former  friend  and  colleague,  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Loomis, 
who  was  for  a  time,  after  he  had  been  invalided  and 
sent  home,  a  secretary  of  our  Board  of  Missions. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  reconcile  myself  to  taking 
into  a  Mission  boarding  school,  boys  to  be  gratuitously 
educated,  with  the  understanding  that,  if  their  be- 
haviour and  progress  were  satisfactory,  they  are  here- 
after to  be  made  ministers.  I  believe  that  to  be  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  one  must  be  called,  and  then  he 
will  not  be  like  those  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  I  have  not 
sent  those  prophets,  yet  they  ran.  I  have  not  spoken 
to  them,  yet  they  prophesied  " ;  and  I  believe,  too,  that 
one  should  continue  in  the  calling  in  which  he  is  met. 
Our  boys'  boarding  school  at  Ningpo  could  hardly 
have  had  more  devoted  and  faithful  superintendents 
than  the  Rev.  John  W.  Quarterman  and  the  Rev.  S. 
N.  D.  Martin.  The  former,  who  laboured  from  1846 
to  1857,  always  lived  in  the  school  among  the  boys  for 
whose  spiritual  good  he  laboured  night  and  day. 
They  were  like  his  own  children.  He  was  unmarried, 
kept  no  servant,  and  his  constant  supervision,  exam- 
ple, and  persevering  devotion,  resulted,  by  the  blessing 


172  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

of  God,  in  the  conversion  of  the  principal  teacher  and 
six  of  the  elder  boys.  Of  the  six  boys  referred  to, 
one  grew  up,  and  when  he  died  two  years  afterwards, 
in  Shanghai,  he  had  served  a  long  pastorate  there. 
One  was  for  thirty-two  years  pastor  at  Yuyao ;  and  of 
the  others,  one  has  been,  for  thirty-seven  years,  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Bao-K6-t'ah.  One  fell  under  temp- 
tation, and  was  deposed  from  the  ministry;  but  al- 
though he  never  applied  to  be  reinstated  in  the 
ministry,  he  lived  an  exemplary  life,  opening  and 
closing  his  school  with  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and 
prayer.  Twenty-five  years'  absence  from  Ningpo 
have  made  me  less  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the 
rest,  but  I  believe  they  have  all  proved  to  be  "  work- 
men who  need  not  be  ashamed."  * 

After  the  boys'  school  at  Ningpo  had  been  estab- 
lished, I  suggested  to  the  members  of  the  Mission 
that  it  seemed  to  me  desirable  to  fit  the  boys  to  earn 
their  own  living  when  they  had  finished  the  term  of 
study  for  which  they  were  indentured.  Some  of  the 
missionaries,  however,  thought  that  if  we  fed,  clothed, 
and  gave  them  an  education,  neither  they  nor  their 
parents  could  reasonably  expect  us  to  do  more  for 
them.    I  admitted  that  they  had  no  right  to  ask  us  to 


*  At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  China  in  1894  in  order 
to  commemorate  the  jubilee  of  the  founding  of  our  Mis- 
sion at  Ningpo  in  June,  1844,  they  organized  a  Home 
Missionary  Society  and  sent  two  evangelists  to  carry  the 
Gospel  to  the  regions  not  yet  evangelized  in  their  own 
country.  Several  years  before  many  of  the  other  Mis- 
sions in  different  parts  of  China  have  had  the  help  of  the 
graduates  of  our  two  boarding  schools  as  evangelists  or 
teachers. 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  173 

do  so  much ;  but  that  the  most  of  them  would  have 
been  obliged,  if  we  had  not  fed  and  clothed  them  for 
several  years,  to  work  in  the  rice  fields,  or  on  board 
the  fishing  junks,  etc.,  for  which  their  education  would 
quite  unfit  them.  Others  of  the  Mission  thought  that 
we  could  utilize  all  those  that  graduated  from  the 
school  as  evangelists  and  school  teachers,  but  I  feared 
that  not  all  of  them  would  prove  suitable  men  for 
these  purposes.  Finally  it  was  resolved  that  letters 
be  written  to  the  Corresponding  Secretary  in  New 
York  and  to  our  missionaries  in  India,  asking  for  in- 
formation and  advice  upon  the  subject.  Our  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  wrote 
that  the  question  of  the  support  of  the  native  converts 
had  been  a  perplexing  one  in  India,  and  he  advised 
that  the  Boys'  Boarding  School  be  not  added  to  nor 
enlarged  until  we  had  more  light  on  the  subject.  Just 
at  that  time  the  death  of  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie  oc- 
curred, and  various  changes  took  place  in  consequence. 
Two  of  our  missionaries  were  detached  to  form  a 
station  at  Shanghai,  and  a  re-arrangement  of  our 
operations  took  place,  and  the  matter  of  finding  em- 
ployment for  our  boys  when  they  had  completed  their 
term  of  study  was  left  in  abeyance.  A  shoemaker 
was  employed  in  the  Boys'  Boarding  School,  and  a 
few  of  the  boys  learned  shoemaking.  I  helped  one 
boy  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  tailor,  and  another  I  took 
into  my  own  house,  and  got  a  type-cutter  who  was 
doing  work  for  me  to  teach  him  his  trade.  He  at- 
tained such  remarkable  skill  as  to  be  able  to  cut  400 
Chinese  characters  in  one  day.  He  cut  the  large 
Chinese  characters  in  Williams's  Syllabic  Dictionary, 


174  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

and  with  a  few  hints  as  to  our  methods  of  wood  en- 
graving-, he  executed  the  woodcuts  for  an  illustrated 
newspaper  at  Shanghai. 

One  of  the  scholars  who  had  completed  his  term  at 
the  Boys'  Boarding  School,  I  instructed  in  medical 
science,  in  company  with  a  son  of  my  teacher.  The 
latter  afterwards  became  a  surgeon  on  board  a 
Chinese  man-of-war,  and  the  former  was  a  successful 
practitioner  until  his  death,  after  some  five  or  six 
years  of  practice. 

These  cases  all  occurred  during  the  long  time  that 
I  lived  at  Ningpo,  and  I  paid  for  the  instruction  of 
two  others  after  I  left.  I  believe  that  the  children  of 
our  fellow  Christians  ought  to  be  helped  to  acquire  a 
plain  education,  if  the  parents  are  poor,  or  if  it  be 
out  of  their  power  to  get  good  educational  facilities. 
We  sometimes  sent  a  catechist  and  his  wife  to  a  vil- 
lage in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  there  were  one  or 
more  Christian  households,  to  establish  a  small  day 
school,  and  to  act  as  evangelist,  and  the  result  has 
been  in  some  cases  the  gathering  of  a  Christian 
church.  I  do  not,  however,  see  my  way  clear  to  es- 
tablish boarding  schools  where  the  children  of  heathen 
parents  are  fed  and  clothed  until  they  are  eighteen 
years  old  or  more.  The  temptation  to  make  a  pro- 
fession of  Christianity  in  order  to  be  made  teachers  or 
catechists — or  in  the  case  of  girls,  to  be  married  to 
some  one  in  the  pay  or  employ  of  the  Mission, — is 
too  great  a  temptation  to  hypocrisy  to  subject  them  to. 

On  the  whole  I  believe  in  schools,  but  they  are  like 
garden  plots  that  require  to  be  well  cultivated.  There 
will  be  some  sad,  and  all  the  more  so  because  unex- 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  175 

pected,  disappointments.  It  is  not  like  the  scattering 
of  the  precious  seed  as  of  wheat  perchance  or  other 
grain,  and  going  occasionally  to  see  how  much  or  how 
many  of  the  seeds  sown  have  taken  root  and  what  the 
harvest  will  be ;  but  like  a  vineyard  or  garden  in  which 
every  plant  must  be  watched  and  dug  about,  pruned, 
weeded,  and  the  rain  from  heaven  prayed  for;  and 
even  then  "  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper 
this  or  that";  rarely  shall  all  alike  be  good.  (We 
have  no  right  to  expect  great  results  where  a  school 
has  been  got  up  for  Brother  this  or  Sister  that,  "  be- 
cause there  is  nothing  else  that  he  or  she  seems  fit 
for.")  The  scholars  may  be  well  cared  for,  fed,  and 
clothed,  sheltered  from  sun  and  rain,  and  the  winds 
not  suffered  to  visit  them  too  roughly;  and  yet,  in 
some  cases  they  may  not  seem  to  appreciate  what  one 
does  for  them,  or  they  may  even  reproach  those  who 
have  labored  for  their  good,  yet  who  have  brought 
them  up  in  such  a  way  that  they  cannot  live,  or  earn 
a  living  as  their  fathers  did,  and  therefore  ought,  as 
they  think,  to  be  supported  in  the  sphere  for  which 
they  have  been  trained.  The  students  may  be  natu- 
rally ungrateful,  or  they  may  think  that  we  expect,  in 
this  way,  to  accumulate  merit  in  a  future  state  of 
existence,  or  are  sent  out  and  paid  by  persons  in 
Christian  lands  to  do  the  work,  and  therefore  do  not 
deserve  any  gratitude  from  them.  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things  ?  A  special  gift  is  greatly  to  be  de- 
sired, but  grace  may  make  up  for  lack  of  natural 
ability.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  the  difficulties 
and  uncertainties,  a  single  soul  saved  may  turn  out 
to  be  the  means  of  turning  many  to  righteousness, 


176  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

and  the  beginning  of  a  beautiful  harvest  in  after 
years. 

I  think  that  for  a  missionary  to  train  in  his  or  her 
own  family  a  single  or  even  two  boys  who  seem  to 
promise  to  be  sincere  and  active  Christians,  holds  out 
a  greater  promise  of  future  usefulness  than  to  estab- 
lish a  school  of  25  or  50  boys  or  girls  whose  influence 
upon  each  other  is  not  calculated  to  lead  them 'to  be- 
come spiritually  minded  Christians,  and  who  have 
been  fed  and  cared  for  until  they  have  become  poorly 
fitted  for  the  struggle  for  existence  that  is  before 
them. 

When  I  was  in  Shirakawa  (in  Japan)  with  Prof. 
Todd's  eclipse  expedition  in  August,  1887,  I  met  a 
young  Japanese  lad  who  told  me  that  he  was  a  Chris- 
tian and  connected  with  the  Methodist  Church.  He 
had  studied  English  somewhat  at  a  school  taught  by 
Japanese  and  seemed  an  intelligent  boy  who  had  made 
good  use  of  the  opportunities  which  he  had  enjoyed. 
I  wrote  to  Dr.  Soper,  of  the  American  Methodist 
Church  (North,)  telling  him  that  I  thought  this  boy 
would  be  likely  to  repay  the  expense  of  education  at 
the  Methodist  School  at  Aoyama  (near  Tokyo)  and 
offered  to  contribute  towards  his  support.  Dr.  Soper 
saw  the  boy  and  he  was  taken  into  the  school.  The 
first  year  that  he  was  in  the  school  he  gained  a  schol- 
arship by  his  diligence  and  progress  and  through  the 
whole  course  maintained  a  high  standing  and  a  Chris- 
tian character  above  reproach.  He  always  seemed  to 
feel  grateful  to  me  for  being  the  first  to  put  him  in 
the  way  of  carrying  on  his  education.  I  had  exhorted 
him  from  the  first  not  to  calculate  upon  spending  his 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  177 

life  in  the  employ  of  foreigners,  but  to  fit  himself  for 
self-support,  telling  him  that  if  he  ever  felt  called  to 
become  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  there  would  be 
nothing  to  prevent  himself  from  doing  so  after  he 
had  fitted  himself  for  independent  self-support.  He 
has  succeeded  in  giving  satisfaction  to  his  employers, 
who  are  large  dealers  in  kerosene.  They  have  em- 
ployed him  in  their  business  and  in  their  steam  ves- 
sels, and  have  sent  him  as  one  of  their  confidential 
agents  to  Formosa,  Vladivostock,  and  Odessa.  He 
has  studied  the  Russian  language  and  is  regular  in  his 
religious  duties.  I  consider  that  he  has  repaid  any 
help  I  have  given  him. 

There  was  a  boy  in  the  Meiji  Gakuin  School  during 
the  time  that  I  was  there  who  appeared  to  me  to  be 
one  of  the  most  orderly  in  his  behaviour  and  punctual 
in  his  attendance,  walking  every  day  from  his  father's 
house  in  Tsukiji  to  the  Meiji  Gakuin,  a  distance  of 
between  four  and  five  miles.  After  I  left  the  Meiji 
Gakuin  his  class  graduated,  but  the  teachers  declined 
to  give  him  a  diploma.  I  wrote  to  the  school  authori- 
ties that  the  boy  had  been  one  of  the  most  exemplary 
in  his  deportment,  never  having  been  involved  in  any 
of  the  disorderly  outbreaks  that  took  place  in  the 
school,  and  that  he  had  always  shown  a  disposition 
and  an  effort  to  do  well  in  his  studies.  I  said  that  to 
withhold  a  diploma  or  a  certificate  would  be  to  inti- 
mate that  he  was  unworthy  of  being  ranked  in  scholar- 
ship and  behaviour  with  his  classmates,  and  I  asked 
that  the  authorities  give  him  a  certificate  as  a  special 
student.  This  they  did.  I  think  that  he  was  a  paying 
scholar,  not  a  beneficiary.     His  father  had  a  com- 


178  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

fortable  house  in  Tsukiji  and  seemed  to  me  to  be  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  By  my  advice  the  young 
man  translated  into  Japanese  a  manual  of  commercial 
letter- writing,  which  was  published  in  successive  num- 
bers of  a  Japanese  commercial  magazine.  He  is  now 
an  agent  for  an  Express  Company  at  Shizuoka, 
whither  he  removed  with  his  wife  between  one  and 
two  years  ago.  I  was  surprised  and  pleased  to  hear 
him  referred  to  by  one  of  the  reports  of  the  Associ- 
ated Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Re- 
formed Churches  as  one  of  the  most  creditable  of  the 
students  educated  in  their  school.  He  has  written  to 
me  once  or  twice  since  his  last  promotion.  I  am 
sorry  that  I  could  never  elicit  from  him  any  expres- 
sion of  interest  in  the  Gospel. 

With  reference  to  missionary  colleges  or  universi- 
ties, as  some  of  them  are  called,  in  Japan,  there  is  in 
my  opinion  no  need  of  supporting  schools  or  colleges 
for  teaching  science  or  philosophy.  The  Japanese 
Government  is  perfectly  able  to  establish  and  endow 
such  institutions,  and  they  now  have  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  educated  and  skilful  men  to  teach  them.  I  do 
not  think  it  is  a  justifiable  use  of  money  given  for 
religious  purposes  to  spend  it  to  make  scientists,  nor 
do  I  think  that  those  who  are  qualified  or  who  feel 
called  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen  and  who  are 
supported  from  Mission  funds  should  give  their  lives 
to  carrying  on  such  institutions.  Science  will  do  an 
earnest  missionary  no  harm  and  may  gain  respect  and 
influence  for  him  from  those  who  are  without  it ;  but 
teaching  science  is  not  the  proper  calling  of  a  mission- 
ary, and  the  times  are  much  changed  since  the  insti- 


MISSION  DAY  SCHOOLS  179 

tutions  called  colleges,  whose  "  professors  "  have  not 
been  educated  as  scientists,  but  are  simply  mission- 
aries (generally  clergymen  who  appoint  themselves, 
or  are  appointed  by  the  Mission  Boards  upon  the 
principal  of  utilizing  the  materials  that  are  at  hand) 
can  compete  with  the  universities  or  colleges  estab- 
lished and  supported  by  the  Government.  To  get 
colleges  in  the  United  States  to  confer  the  degrees 
of  A.M.  or  D.D.  upon  their  missionaries,  and  style 
them  "  professors,"  when  they  have  no  specialty  un- 
less it  be  theology  and  can  only  hear  recitations  from 
the  text-books  used  in  the  ordinary  schools  in  the 
United  States,  only  brings  contempt  upon  both  men 
and  schools.  Genuine  scientists  will  look  upon  them 
as  quacks. 

Regarding  one  of  the  colleges  I  have  referred  to — 
the  "  Anglo-Chinese  College,"  established  by  Dr.  Mor- 
rison, assisted  by  other  friends  of  religion, — the 
author  of  "  The  Middle  Kingdom  "  (Vol.  II,  p,  394,) 
says,  "  There  is  little  hesitation  in  saying  that  the 
name  and  array  of  a  college  were  too  far  in  advance 
of  the  people  among  whom  it  was  situated.  The  ef- 
forts made  in  it  would  have  been  more  profitably 
expended  in  establishing  common  schools  among  the 
people,  in  which  Christianity  and  knowledge  went 
hand  in  hand.  It  is  far  better  among  an  ignorant 
pagan  people  that  a  hundred  persons  should  know  one 
thing  than  that  one  man  should  know  a  hundred ;  the 
widest  diffusion  of  the  first  elements  of  religion  and 
science  is  most  desirable." 

The  presidency  of  this  college  was  conferred  upon 
a  young  man  who  had  had  no  experience,  and  the 


180  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  City  of  New  York,  at  the  request  of  his 
father-in-law,  who  was  (as  I  remember  to  have  heard 
at  the  time)  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence  in  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  The  "  college  "  had  a 
brief  career  and  was  succeeded  by  the  "  Morrison 
School,"  taught  by  the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  at  Hong 
Kong,  some  of  whose  pupils  were  sent  to  the  United 
States  and  to  Great  Britain.  In  justice  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  at  Malacca,  I  am 
happy  to  say  that  he  afterwards  distinguished  him- 
self as  the  translator  of  the  Chinese  classics.  He  left 
the  service  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  and  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Chinese  at  Oxford,  England. 


XXIV 

MEDICAL  PRACTICE  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 
NOTES 

(1)    MEJDICAI,  PRACTICED 

MY  prescribing  days  in  the  Taoist  Temple  at 
Ningpo  were  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and 
Fridays.  My  surgical  operations  caused 
great  surprise  and  gave  rise  to  some  strange  rumors. 
The  most  common  of  the  operations  was  that  for 
entropium  or  inversion  of  the  upper  eyelid.  It  was 
astonishing  to  me  to  see  how  the  Chinese  could  en- 
dure to  have  all  the  eyelashes  of  one  or  both  of  the 
eyelids  turned  completely  in  upon  the  eyeball,  and 
rubbing  like  a  blacking  brush  upon  the  cornea;  yet 
some  of  them  endured  this  for  years  until  the  eye  was 
completely  covered  with  a  thick  film.  The  native 
surgeons  used  to  pinch  up  a  certain  piece  of  the  eyelid 
between  two  small  pieces  of  bamboo,  around  which 
they  wound  thread  as  foreign  surgeons  do  around 
pins  in  the  operation  for  harelip  suture.  They  left 
the  bamboo  until  the  lenticular  piece  sloughed  off  and 
the  sloughing  sore  healed ;  but  by  this  method  of  ope- 
rating the  piece  sloughed  off  could  not  of  course  be 
calculated  beforehand  with  any  certainty.  Sometimes 
it  was  too  much,  in  which  case  the  eyelid  could  not 
be  entirely  closed ;  sometimes  it  was  not  enough,  and 
then  the  inversion  of  the  eyelid  would  remain ;  in  any 

181 


182  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

case  there  was  a  month  or  so  of  suffering,  and  some- 
times without  any  benefit  to  pay  for  the  suffering  and 
inconvenience. 

The  Chinese  eye  is  different  from  ours,  and  I  found 
it  much  more  easy  to  operate  upon.  With  the  aid  of 
a  forceps,  which  I  had  made  for  the  purpose,  I  could 
take  up  a  lenticular  piece  of  the  eyelid  of  exactly  the 
shape  and  size  required  to  suit  the  case  and  remove  it 
by  means  of  a  pair  of  slightly  curved  scissors.  Then 
I  brought  the  cut  wedges  together  and  tacked  them 
together  with  three  stitches.  I  applied  no  plasters  but 
simply  a  pledget  of  moistened  lint;  and  in  less  than 
thirty-six  hours  could  remove  the  stitches,  and  the 
person  could  use  his  eye  without  any  further  trouble. 
I  can  hardly  form  an  estimate  after  this  length  of 
time  of  how  many  hundreds  of  times  I  performed  this 
operation,  and  always  with  great  relief  to  the  patient. 

Of  catarrhal  conjunctivitis  I  had  still  a  greater 
number  of  cases,  as  well  as  of  opacity  of  the  cornea. 
The  cases  of  cataract  were  almost  all  fluid  cataract, 
and  the  greater  part  of  them  were  successfully  broken 
up  and  dissolved.  Cases  of  gunshot  wounds,  where 
the  ball  had  to  be  cut  out ;  of  incised  wounds ;  cases 
requiring  amputation  of  the  leg,  arm,  or  fingers ;  cases 
of  dropsy  requiring  tapping;  other  cases  requiring 
catheterism  of  the  bladder  and  eustachian  tube; 
fractures  of  the  arm  or  leg ;  arresting  hemorrhages ; 
cases  oi  itch,  eczema,  and  rheumatism ;  also  of  dysen- 
tery and  intermittent  fevers;  very  many  cases  of 
chronic  ulcers,  etc.,  were  treated;  also  several  cases 
of  elephantiasis,  one  case  affecting  both  legs,  each  of 
which  was  as  large  as  the  patient's  body.     Cases  of 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  183 

poisoning  by  opium  taken  with  suicidal  intent  were 
very  frequent ;  although  not  by  any  means  forming  so 
large  a  proportion  of  the  cases  as  my  good  friend,  Mr. 
William  Rankin,  inferred  (Handbook  and  Incidents 
of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  p. 
44,)  from  the  fact  that  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie,  my 
colleague  in  the  temple,  referred  to  them  so  fre- 
quently in  his  letters  to  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Rankin  puts  down  the  number  of  cases  reported  as 
treated  at  my  hospital  in  one  year  at  2,238,  of  whom 
302  were  women.  As  the  cases  were  recorded  by  my 
teacher  and  my  assistant,  I  suppose  that  is  probably 
correct. 

In  "  Old  China  and  New,"  Archdeacon  Moule,  who, 
with  one  of  his  catechists  or  fellow  laborers  at  Tsz'ki, 
witnessed  my  practice  for  three  months,  says  that  the 
patients  numbered  two  hundred  on  prescribing  days ; 
and  more  than  once  I  got  back  home  at  Ningpo  late 
at  night,  after  walking  ten  to  fourteen  miles;  for  I 
would  not  let  any  that  had  come  from  a  distance  go 
away  unattended  to.  Many  persons  have  reported 
much  larger  numbers ;  but  allowing  only  a  minute  on 
an  average  to  each  case,  it  would  take  three  hours  and 
twenty  minutes  to  get  through  two  hundred  cases  at 
my  dispensary  at  Ningpo.  I  usually  took  from  8  a. 
M.  to  2  p.  M.  on  each  prescribing  day,  and  that  was  as 
much  as  I  could  do  justice  to.  When  people  talk  of 
prescribing  to  thousands  of  patients  in  a  week  I  am 
constrained  to  wonder  what  time  they  had  to  eat  or 
sleep. 

It  would  have  been  very  unfortunate  had  I  lost  a 
case  in  which  I  had  given  the  patient  or  his  friends 


184  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

reason  to  think  I  could  effect  a  cure,  and  I  have  reason 
to  thank  God  that  I  never  had  a  patient  die  under  an 
operation  or  as  the  result  of  one.  The  Ningpo  people 
knew  that  I  would  not  deceive  them  and  that  I  was 
not  like  some  of  their  practitioners  who  would  engage 
for  a  certain  sum  to  make  a  cure  of  a  case  that  they 
knew  must  necessarily  be  fatal,  and  they  had  confi- 
dence in  me  accordingly.  In  one  case  of  dropsy, 
where  the  patient  had  been  in  misery  for  a  long  time, 
being  unable  to  sit  or  lie,  hardly  even  to  breathe,  I  told 
the  family :  "  I  cannot  save  his  life,  but  if  you  will  let 
me  tap  him,  he  will  be  made  more  comfortable,  and 
may  live  twenty  or  thirty  days."  The  patient  himself 
was  anxious  that  I  should  operate,  and  finally  his  wife 
and  mother  consented.  I  drew  off  so  much  water  that 
they  were  all  surprised,  and  then  were  confident  that 
he  would  recover.  I  told  them  that  he  could  not  live 
more  than  a  week  or  two.  When  he  did  die,  his  wife 
thanked  me  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  said :  "  We 
were  sure  he  would  get  well  after  you  had  drawn  off 
the  water,  and  we  were  so  disappointed  when  he  did 
die;  but  we  are  thankful  that  his  great  distress  was 
relieved  and  his  last  days  were  made  so  much  more 
comfortable."  It  did  no  harm  to  my  reputation  to 
lose  such  a  case. 

At  another  time  I  was  sent  for  to  treat  a  case  in  the 
country  and  lest  I  should  decline  to  go  they  assured 
me  that  it  was  only  a  very  short  distance  outside  of 
the  city  and  that  the  opium  had  been  taken  only  a  few 
hours  before.  But  they  were  deceiving  me,  for,  al- 
though I  was  carried  by  swift  chair  bearers,  it  was 
nearly  midnight  when  I  reached  the  place.    Declining 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  185 

the  refreshment  offered  I  went  at  once  to  see  the  case, 
and  on  seeing  her,  "  why  this  woman  has  been  dead 
several  hours !  "  "  That  is  true,"  was  the  reply,  "  but 
won't  you  bring  her  back  to  life?  "  I  told  the  hus- 
band that  I  was  not  God,  and  could  not  raise  the  dead. 
A  report  had  gone  abroad  that  I  had  brought  to  life  a 
person  who  had  been  dead  for  days.  It  was  easy  to 
see  that  the  report  arose  from  the  account  that  some 
of  them  had  heard  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus  by  our 
Lord.  The  Ningpo  people  despised  one  who  lied  to 
accomplish  dishonest  or  dishonorable  ends,  but  did  not 
consider  it  unjustifiable  to  lie  in  order  to  save  life,  or 
to  accomplish  a  benevolent  purpose ;  much  as  in  other 
countries  "  white  lies  "  are  often  told,  and  are  excused 
as  necessary  for  the  sake  of  politeness. 

Restoring  sight  by  the  operation  for  cataract,  and 
the  resuscitation  of  asphyxiated  persons,  also  added 
to  my  reputation ;  and  of  these  cases,  one,  a  child,  who 
must  have  been  some  minutes  under  water  and  whom 
I  resuscitated,  was  the  occasion  of  another  child  being 
brought  to  me  that  had  been  several  hours  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  well.  It  was  always  a  cause  of  thankfulness 
to  me  when  a  patient  was  cured  or  relieved ;  and  of 
sadness  when  I  was  obliged  to  decline  to  undertake  the 
case.  Surgical  operations,  such  as  amputations  par- 
ticularly, were  occasions  of  anxiety  for  me,  for  we 
had  no  chloroform  or  ether  fifty  years  ago,  and  my 
only  assistants  were  my  teacher,  and  in  cases  of  major 
amputations,  Mr.  Way,  to  whom  I  always  entrusted 
the  tourniquet. 

On  other  than  hospital  days  I  visited  the  Chinese 
at  their  homes,  confining  my  practice  principally  to  the 


186  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

treatment  of  such  cases  as  I  have  enumerated ;  or  in 
practising  writing  the  Chinese  characters,  or  writing 
prescriptions  and  directions  in  Chinese;  or  in  search- 
ing to  find  out  what  articles  of  the  materia  medica  I 
could  procure  from  the  Chinese  themselves,  or  could 
compound  from  their  own  materials.  By  way  of 
variety  and  out-of-door  exercise  I  visited  their  brass 
foundries  and  iron  foundries,  and  investigated  their 
methods  of  brewing  and  distilling  their  rice  wine,  the 
fermentation  of  glucose,  etc. 

I  always  considered  that  I  should  have  to  give  an 
account  of  my  stewardship,  and  prayed  for  a  blessing 
upon  my  endeavours.  I  do  not  believe  in  the  theory 
that  curing  the  body  is  to  be  used  in  the  missionary 
work  merely  as  a  bait  to  gather  a  crowd  to  whom  one 
may  preach  and  distribute  tracts,  and  that  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  spend  time  to  investigate  or  make  a 
careful  diagnosis,  though  I  have  heard  such  theory 
and  practice  defended.  I  do  not  believe  that  gifts  of 
healing  are  ever  given  to  people  who  hold  such  views, 
or  that  they  are  obeying  the  command  "  heal  the  sick," 
in  following  such  a  plan.  I  doubt  if  the  Great  Phys- 
ician can  be  expected  to  say  "  well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,"  to  such  a  one.  It  may  be  very  well 
where  there  is  no  surgeon  or  physician  for  one  not 
professionally  educated  to  pull  teeth  as  Dr.  Mackay 
did  in  Formosa,  or  give  sulphur  for  the  itch  or  sulph- 
ate of  zinc  and  mustard  to  save  a  person  who  has 
taken  opium  to  commit  suicide ;  but  I  have  personally 
know^n  of  fatal  results  from  incompetent  or  careless 
practitioners,  and  I  think  it  very  unjustifiable  in  Mis- 
sion Boards  or  Societies  to  attach  an  M.D.  to  the 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  187 

name  of  any  person  sent  out  by  them  who  has  not  re- 
ceived a  thorough  medical  education.  I  believe  there  is 
just  as  much  need  of  a  "  call  "  to  a  man  or  woman  to 
"  heal  the  sick  "  in  the  mission  field  as  to  a  man  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments.  I  used  to  add  a  word  of  ex- 
hortation whenever  I  could  and  I  always  made  it  my 
aim  and  endeavour  to  find  some  time  for  that  purpose. 
It  is,  I  think,  a  mistake  to  appropriate  grudgingly 
the  monies  necessary  for  medical  work  no  the  ground 
that  that  work  cannot  be  considered  directly  evangel- 
istic, or  to  measure  the  amount  of  converts  gathered 
together  in  the  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  or  in  med- 
ical itinerations.  Were  we  to  reckon  by  such  rules 
what  would  we  say  of  the  spiritual  good  accomplished 
by  the  Great  Physician  Himself  by  His  miracles  of 
healing?  "  Were  there  not  ten  (lepers)  cleansed?  But 
where  are  the  nine?''  Of  the  "5000  men,  besides 
women  and  children,"  or  the  "  4000  men  besides 
women  and  children  "  who  "  did  eat  and  were  filled," 
how  many  converts  or  how  many  enquirers  were  the 
direct  results  of  Christ's  benevolent  work  on  those 
occasions?  He  Himself  testified  that  they  sought 
Him  not  because  of  the  miracles  He  had  wrought 
upon  them,  nor  because  they  desired  "that  meat 
which  endureth  unto  life  everlasting,"  but  simply  the 
"  meat  that  perisheth  "  that  they  might  "  eat  of  the 
loaves  and  be  filled."  Following  the  example,  there- 
fore, of  the  Great  Physician,  who  often  wrought 
miracles  because  He  "  had  compassion  and  would  not 
send  them  away  fasting  lest  they  should  faint  by  the 
way,"  so  I  believe  earthly  physicians  should  not 
grudge  their  labor  to  relieve  the  physical  suffering  of 


188  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

their  fellow  creatures.  Let  us  act  in  the  spirit  incul- 
cated by  the  Son  of  God,  our  Heavenly  Master,  that 
we  may  be  called  the  "  children  of  our  Father  who  is 
in  Heaven,  who  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust."  Moreover  the  opportunities  for  a  "  good 
physician,"  for  administering  spiritual  comfort  and 
sympathy  and  encouragement  to  the  sick  and  the  sor- 
rowing, are,  I  believe,  quite  equal  to  those  possessed 
by  others  whose  labors  are  more  especially  those  of 
"  Ministers  of  the  Word,"  and  their  names  are  just  as 
likely  to  be  cherished  as  household  words  among  the 
children  and  children's  children  of  the  people  to  whom 
they  have  ministered.  Let  not  therefore  "  the  eye  say 
unto  the  hand  I  have  no  need  of  thee,  nor  again  the 
head  unto  the  foot,  I  have  no  need  of  you,"  for  "  we 
are  members  one  of  another,  and  as  the  body  is  one, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  body,  being  many,  are  one 
body,  so  also  is  Christ."    I  Cor.  xii,  Eph.  iv  :25. 

Well  qualified  medical  men  willing  to  volunteer  for 
the  work  of  a  medical  missionary  were  comparatively 
few.  Their  isolation  from  medical  libraries  and  med- 
ical magazines  and  hospitals,  and  from  intercourse 
with  other  medical  and  scientific  men  deter  them. 
Well  educated  and  experienced  men  were  in  the  early 
days  classed  in  the  same  category  with  printers  and 
farmers,  and  called  "  assistant  missionaries."  This 
was  enough  sometimes  to  disgust  and  discourage  men 
of  any  professional  ability  or  self-respect  from  volun- 
teering as  medical  missionaries.  There  is,  of  course, 
nothing  which  would  prevent  an  intelligent  clergyman 
becoming  a  respectable  and  useful  physician,  but  his 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  189 

taking  up  another  than  his  first  calling  is  a  presump- 
tion that  he  not  only  lacked  judgment,  but  also  makes 
it  probable  that  he  does  not  understand  what  medical 
science  is  and  that  he  will  not  be  any  more  successful 
in  his  second  calling  than  in  the  first. 

I  knew  one  of  the  cheap  medical  missionaries  edu- 
cated and  sent  out  by  one  of  the  institutions  for 
making  cheap  doctors,  who  knew  nothing  of  obstet- 
rics. I  was  called  in  by  him  to  see  one  of  his  patients, 
and  told  him  at  once  that  the  only  chance  of  life  for 
the  woman  was  an  immediate  operation.  He  said  that 
he  had  no  obstetrical  instruments.  I  offered  to  lend 
him  some;  but  he  decided  to  wait  until  the  next  day. 
Before  the  next  morning  the  patient  was  dead.  In 
another  case  I  was  called  to  see  a  lady  just  delivered 
whose  symptoms  two  medical  missionaries  of  the  kind 
I  have  just  described  could  not  understand.  I  at  once 
said :  "  Mrs.  — —  has  been  poisoned."  On  making 
enquiry  I  found  that  her  medical  attendant  had  been 
treating  one  or  more  cases  of  smallpox.  One  young 
man  thought  it  would  only  take  him  six  months  to  fit 
him  for  a  medical  missionary.  I  protested  to  his 
pastor,  but  he  came  and  stayed  three  months,  and  was 
on  his  way  back  to  the  United  States  while  the  officers 
of  the  Board  were  still  canvassing  Sunday  Schools 
and  churches  to  pay  for  his  outfit  and  support.  I 
could  refer  to  more  cases,  but  these  are  sufficient.  An 
unsuccessful  operation,  i,  e.,  one  followed  by  fatal 
termination,  may  result  in  very  serious  consequences, 
not  only  to  the  unsuccessful  surgeon,  but  to  the  for- 
eign community.  A  medical  missionary  whom  I  ad- 
vised to  confine  his  practice  at  first  to  certain  kinds  of 


190  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

cases,  thought  it  would  be  equivalent  to  a  confession 
that  Western  medical  and  surgical  science  could  not 
cure  all  kinds  of  cases.  I  replied  that  I  thought  in 
somewhat  that  way  myself.  He,  however,  determined 
to  decline  no  cases,  and  to  do  his  best.  Whether  he 
expected  miraculous  aid  I  cannot  say ;  but  after  losing 
a  few  cases  his  hospital  was  but  poorly  patronized, 
and  a  prejudice  existed  against  him  for  a  long  time. 

My  plan  was,  in  serious  cases,  to  tell  the  patient's 
friends  that  I  was  willing  to  do  my  best,  but  that  I 
could  not,  as  some  of  their  advertising  quacks  offered 
to  do,  contract  to  make  a  cure  for  a  certain  sum  of 
money  paid  down.  I  would  only  take  charge  of  the 
case  on  their  pledging  themselves  to  abide  by  the  will 
of  God. 

In  one  case  I  declined  to  perform  an  ampu- 
tation at  the  shoulder  joint,  because  I  was  sure  the 
patient  would  not  recover.  Another  practitioner  who 
asked  me  to  let  him  have  it  as  an  introduction  to 
practice  did  operate  with  the  same  unfortunate  result 
as  that  of  the  case  above  referred  to.  I  have,  of 
course,  lost  patients,  but  never  on  the  operating  table. 
Nor  did  I  ever  faint  during  or  after  an  operation  (as 
I  have  seen  it  said  of  a  certain  medical  missionary), 
except  once,  while  I  was  in  college,  and  before  I  be- 
came a  medical  student.  It  was  often  trying  to  my 
feelings  to  be  obliged  to  inflict  suffering  with  the 
knife,  upon  those  in  whose  cases  it  was  absolutely 
necessary,  in  order  to  save  life  or  relieve  severe  suf- 
fering, especially  as  this  was  before  anaesthetics  had 
been  introduced  into  medical  practice,  as  I  have  said, 
and  the  patients  had  in  some  cases  to  be  tied  down.    I 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  191 

never  saw  chloroform  used  until  May,  1861,  when  I 
saw  it  used  in  the  case  of  an  amputation  of  the  leg  of 
a  Chinese  by  the  U.  S.  Naval  surgeon  on  board  the 
"  Dacotah  "  while  we  were  lying  off  Hankow. 

Twelve  miles  or  so  from  Ningpo,  at  the  foot  of  a 
range  of  low  hills,  separating  it  from  what  was  called 
Sanpoh,  or  Region  North  of  the  Hills,  was  the  walled 
city  of  Tsz'k'i.  It  was  neat,  orderly,  and  aristocratic, 
and  many  of  its  inhabitants  were  connected  with  large 
business  firms  in  Ningpo.  The  residents  (like  those 
of  Chinhai)  had  not  forgotten  the  capture  of  the  city, 
and  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the  Chinese  by  the  Brit- 
ish troops  in  1841,  and  for  other  reasons  were  very 
averse  to  allowing  foreigners  to  get  a  foothold  in  the 
city.  The  Rev.  G.  E.  Moule,  who  succeeded  Bishop 
Russell  upon  the  latter's  death,  requested  me  to  call 
upon  the  mayor  of  Tsz'k'i  with  him  and  persuade  him 
to  bring  some  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  people  to 
cause  them  to  withdraw  their  opposition.  I  said, 
**  Don't  you  think  it  would  have  a  better  effect  if  we 
could  win  the  people  over  by  kindness  ?  "  He  replied, 
"  Yes,  but  how?  "  I  told  him  that  if  he  would  fur- 
nish medicines  and  hire  a  shed  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  city  I  would  go  once  a  week  with  his  brother, 
Rev.  (afterwards  Archdeacon)  A.  E.  Moule,  and  pre- 
scribe ;  and  I  felt  confident  that  in  that  way  we  could 
gain  an  entrance  into  the  city.  It  was  agreed  to  make 
the  trial,  and  the  shed  was  rented,  medicines  provided, 
and  placards  posted  announcing  that  we  would  visit 
the  place  once  a  week  for  prescribing.  Archdeacon 
Moule,  speaking  of  this  dispensary  in  his  book  "  New 
China  and  Old,"  says,  "  For  three  months  in  succes- 


192  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

sion  I  accompanied  the  Doctor  once  a  week  to 
Tsz'k'i.  On  each  occasion  nearly  200  patients  were 
treated,  and  at  the  close  of  the  experiment  all  hostil- 
ity had  disappeared,  and  I  secured  at  once  good  prem- 
ises for  our  Mission  chapel  from  a  willing  negotiator 
— premises  on  the  site  of  which  now  stands  a  sub- 
stantial mission  church."  (p.  295) 

(2)  DKAF  MUTKS 

I  do  not  think  deaf  mutes  are  very  numerous  in 
China,  but  I  have  met  several  and  have  had  some  very 
interesting  conversations  with  them.  One  case  in  par- 
ticular was  the  first  link  of  a  long  series  of  events 
which  were  of  great  interest  and  importance  to  us  in 
our  missionary  work  and  still  are  after  a  lapse  of  fifty 
years.  I  was  crossing  the  river  at  the  Salt  Gate  Ferry 
in  the  spring  of  1847  in  a  boat  in  which,  among  other 
passengers,  was  a  deaf-mute  carrying  some  drawing 
materials,  and  who  was  accompanied  by  a  little  boy. 
I  immediately  asked  him  if  it  was  his  child.  He  at 
once  told  me  how  many  children  he  had  and  in  reply 
to  my  questions  told  me  that  he  was  an  artist  and  had 
been  on  the  North  Bank  (near  my  house)  taking  the 
portrait  of  one  of  my  neighbours  (who  had  just  died) 
so  that  the  portrait  might  be  hung  up  and  worshipped 
at  the  time  for  worshipping  ancestors.  He  asked  me 
as  to  our  family,  parents,  etc.,  and  how  many  suns 
would  set  while  I  went  from  China  to  my  country. 
Finally  I  pointed  out  my  house  and  invited  him  to 
come  and  see  me — which  he  did,  and  I  got  mission- 
aries and  others  to  get  him  to  draw  pictures  repre- 
senting Chinese  people,  trades,  etc.    I  found  that  he 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  193 

knew  a  few  Chinese  written  characters  which  enabled 
us  to  converse  much  more  readily,  although  he  did 
not  know  enough  to  read  a  book.  On  one  occasion  I 
thought  I  would  try  and  give  him  some  ideas  of  the 
living  God,  our  Creator,  and  of  the  uselessness  of 
idols  of  wood  and  clay.  The  two  written  characters 
in  Chinese  for  God  and  Spirit,  were  great  helps  in 
explaining  my  meaning.  I  commenced  by  explaining 
that  a  living  man  had  a  soul  or  spirit,  but  a  corpse 
had  not.  That  a  living  man  might  make  a  chair  or  a 
table  out  of  wood,  but  a  dead  man  could  not  because 
his  soul  was  departed.  Then  I  asked  who  made  all 
things,  and  told  him  the  idols  were  useless,  being 
nothing  but  wood  and  brass  without  souls,  but  that  he 
and  I  and  all  men  everywhere  were  made  by  the  only 
true  God,  who  was  a  spirit;  and  although  we  could 
not  see  Him,  just  as  we  could  not  see  our  souls,  yet 
we  must  reverence  and  worship  Him  as  our  Father 
who  is  in  heaven.  He  seemed  much  interested,  put 
into  his  stocking  leg  the  paper  upon  which  I  had  writ- 
ten the  Chinese  characters  and  bade  me  good-bye. 
One  of  his  relatives  was  dying  of  a  chronic  disease 
and  they  sent  for  me  to  come  and  see  him,  which  I 
did,  but  found  him  too  far  gone  to  help  him.  His 
daughter  and  only  child  who  came  to  me  for  medi- 
cines was  an  interesting  little  girl  who  was  related  to 
Mr.  Lu,  who  lived  near  Mr.  Culbertson's  house  in  the 
city  of  Ningpo,  and  whom  I  noticed  once  or  twice  at 
the  Sunday  afternoon  services.  He  afterwards  be- 
came my  teacher  of  the  Mandarin  dialect.  At  his 
request  I  recommended  his  son  to  one  of  the  newly- 
arrived   missionaries   as   a   personal   teacher.     The 


194  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

younger  Lu  afterwards  became  a  Christian  and  forty 
years  after  was  the  "blind  elder"  who  died  of 
cholera  at  Ningpo  in  1887. 

My  good  friend  and  colleague,  the  Rev.  J.  W. 
Quartcrman,  and  I  were  on  a  trip  in  the  country,  and 
having  occasion  to  pass  the  house  of  one  of  our  chair- 
bearers  who  wanted  to  get  a  warmer  jacket,  as  it  was 
already  sunset,  we  stopped  for  that  purpose,  and  the 
wife  came  out  of  the  house  with  a  babe  in  her  arms. 
I  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  woman  was  a  deaf-mute, 
and  immediately  commenced  a  conversation  with  her 
(by  means  of  gestures,  or  the  natural  sign  language). 
I  asked  her  if  that  was  her  child  and  if  it  was  her  only 
child.  She  answered  that  it  was  her  second  child,  and 
that  the  first  child  had  been  scalded  to  death  by  at- 
tempting to  drink  from  the  spout  of  a  tea  kettle  which 
contained  boiling  water.  When  her  husband  came 
out  of  the  house  he  and  his  fellow  chair-bearer  said 
to  one  another,  "  the  deaf  and  dumb  talk  the  same 
language  in  his  (my)  country  as  ours  do." 

(3)    CHURCHES  AND  CHAPELS 

The  first  regular  mission  church  or  chapel  to  be 
built  by  our  Mission  in  Ningpo  was  the  Tsuzin 
Church,  so  called  from  its  being  in  the  street  in  front 
of  the  prefect's  (or  Chifu)  yamen,  or  office.  Mr. 
Culbertson  and  I  were  the  committee  appointed. 
Mr.  Culbertson,  who,  because  he  had  been  educated  at 
the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  was  sup- 
posed to  know  more  about  architecture  than  any  other 
members  of  the  mission,  drew  plans  for  a  large  brick 
building  with  high  Doric  columns  and  a  flight  of  stone 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  195 

steps  in  front,  etc.  My  preference  was  in  favor  of 
an  unpretentious  building  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the 
Chinese  style,  but  it  was  expected  by  my  colleagues 
that  a  spacious,  lofty  building  would  attract  attention 
and  help  to  draw  crowded  audiences.  So  the  church 
was  built  accordingly,  and  finished  in  1850.  The  ma- 
jority of  our  Mission  had  not  been  more  than  four 
years  in  Ningpo  and  Mr.  Culbertson  was  transferred 
to  Shanghai  before  the  building  was  begun  so  that  the 
oversight  of  the  work  was  left  to  me.  Some  years 
afterwards  the  inside  of  the  church  was  divided  so  as 
to  make  two  stories,  the  upper  of  which  was  used  for 
Sunday  services  and  the  lower  for  Sunday  schools, 
etc.  It  is  still  used  for  those  purposes,  but  in  my  time 
it  was  never  filled  by  an  audience  except  when  there 
was  a  gathering  of  the  San  Kong  Wei,  or  Three  Mis- 
sions (Presbyterian,  Baptist,  and  Church  of  England). 
There  was  erected  about  the  same  time  on  the  North 
Bank  a  smaller  chapel  or  church  building,  the  cost  of 
which  was  paid  by  the  Rev.  J.  K.  Wight  and  the  Rev. 
H.  V.  Rankin.  Previously  to  this  the  union  service 
in  English  was  held  in  the  prescribing  room  of  my 
dispensary.  The  English  mercantile  community  after- 
wards built  a  church  on  the  river  side  of  the  Eastern 
side  of  the  North  Bank  settlement,  which  answered,  I 
suppose,  for  Bishop  Russell's  Cathedral. 

(4)  missionarte:s  as  consuls,  interprKTe:rs,  e:tc. 

The  first  time  I  ever  spoke  to  a  Chinese  Mandarin 

was  when,  at  Mr.  Wolcott's  request,  I  went  with  him 

to  call  upon  the  officials  at  Ningpo,  in  October,  1844, 

to  receive  recognition  for  him  as  U.  S.  Vice-Consul. 


196  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

From  my  teacher,  Mr.  Lu,  in  1846-47,  I  got  my  first 
introduction  in  the  Mandarin  dialect,  and  whenever  a 
ship  (other  than  British)  was  to  be  entered  or  cleared 
the  Chinese  authorities  always  applied  to  me,  and  our 
Minister  to  China  and  our  Consul  at  Shanghai  always 
sent  any  official  business  relating  to  Ningpo  to  me,  as 
I  was  not  only  the  longest  resident  among  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  for  many  years  the  only  one  who  could  speak 
the  Mandarin  dialect,  or  read  the  Chinese  written 
language.  The  Hon.  Humphrey  Marshall,  Hon.  Louis 
McLane  and  Hon.  Peter  Parker  all  sent  me  commis- 
sions unsolicited  and  so  did  the  Secretary  of  State,  the 
Hon.  William  H.  Seward.  The  Hon.  Anson  F. 
Burlingame  proposed  to  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  engage  me  permanently  in  its  service,  and  I 
referred  the  question  to  the  Board  in  New  York.  It 
was  left  to  me  to  decide,  and  I  declined  and  returned 
to  my  post  and  to  my  "  calling  "  at  Ningpo.  I  never 
felt  or  considered  that  my  calling  to  be  a  medical  mis- 
sionary absolved  me  frorn  my  obligations  as  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  but  as  soon  as  the  United  States 
sent  out  Dr.  W.  C.  Bradbury  as  Consul  I  declined  all 
further  part  or  responsibility.  I  expressed  my  feel- 
ings on  this  subject  plainly  to  the  Hon.  Anson  D. 
Burlingame.  The  Ningpo  Mission  in  the  troublous 
times  of  the  Long  Haired  Rebels  thought  it  desirable 
that  I  should  act  as  U.  S.  Consul,  and  so  did  the  Hon. 
Messrs.  Humphrey  Marshall,  Louis  McLane,  and 
Peter  Parker;  and  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
tried  to  induce  the  State  Department  to  appoint  me  as 
Consul  in  Japan,  because  I  was  not  a  minister  of  relig- 
ion, but  a  medical  doctor,  and  had  had  several  years' 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  197 

experience  as  a  consul  in  China.  But  Mr.  Harris  did 
infinitely  better  than  I  could  have  hoped  to  do,  and  I 
have  no  reason  to  regret,  but  great  reason  to  be  glad, 
that  I  did  not  go  to  Japan  at  that  time.  I  think  that 
under  all  ordinary  circumstances  it  is  far  better  for  a 
missionary  to  abide  in  the  calling  in  which  he  is  met, 
and  not  to  seek  for  money  or  for  honours  in  diplo- 
matic pursuits. 

(5)   BOTANY 

At  Chusan  I  became  acquainted  with  Robert  For- 
tune, who  afterwards  wrote  three  works  on  China, 
and  who  had  been  sent  out  from  England  to  investi- 
gate the  flora  of  China.  I  gained  some  information 
from  him  which  was  of  help  to  me  in  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  the  Chinese  materia  medica.  He  after- 
wards discovered  and  sent  to  Europe  a  large  number 
of  useful  and  beautiful  plants  and  afterwards  used  to 
leave  his  specimens  under  my  care  at  Ningpo. 

I  discovered  the  insect  wax,  deposited  by  an  insect 
(coccus  pelah)  in  the  vicinity  of  Chinhai  and  wrote 
the  description  and  furnished  specimens  of  the  wax 
which  Mr.  Fortune  had  engraved  and  published  in  his 
book.  It  had  been  mentioned  by  the  Jesuits  as  being 
found  in  the  Province  of  Szechuen  in  Western  China, 
uix)n  a  species  of  Ligustrum.  Fortune  and  others  had 
searched  fruitlessly  for  it  in  the  vicinity  of  the  treaty 
ports.  While  I  was  trying  to  find  a  place  for  a  chapel 
and  dispensary  in  the  city  of  Chinhai,  I  went  into  a 
candlemaker's  establishment  and,  entering  into  con- 
versation with  him  about  the  manufacture  of  candles, 
which  the  Chinese  make  from  the  tallow,  or  outer 


198  AS  HE  REGARDED  HIMSELF 

coating  of  the  fruit  of  the  Stillingia  Sebifera,  and  in- 
sect wax,  I  asked  him  if  any  of  the  insect  wax  was 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Chinhai.  He  said, 
*'  Yes,"  a  small  quantity  was  produced  only.  I  found 
from  him  in  what  neighbourhood  it  was  produced  and 
the  local  name  of  the  tree  upon  which  it  was  depos- 
ited. At  the  proper  season  I  made  an  excursion  to 
the  neighbourhood  indicated,  and  found  that  the  tree 
was  not  a  Ligustrum,  but  a  Fruximus  Sinensis,  or 
Chinese  Ash,  and  from  one  of  these  trees  cut  several 
twigs  covered  with  the  grains  of  wax  deposited  by 
the  coccus  pelah.  Some  time  afterwards  I  secured  a 
specimen  of  the  leaves  and  inflorescence  of  the  tree, 
which  I  sent  to  Mr.  D.  Hamburg,  who  had  the  speci- 
mens engraved  and  published  in  his  "  Notes  on 
Chinese  Materia  Medica."     (London,  1862.) 

Fifteen  or  more  years  afterwards,  when  I  was 
teaching  botany  in  the  University  of  Tokyo  and  was 
associated  in  the  management  of  the  Botanical  Gar- 
den with  the  celebrated  Dr.  Ito  Keisuke,  I  asked  him 
if  the  tree  on  which  was  deposited  the  insect  wax  in 
candle  making  was  found  in  Japan.  He  said,  "  Yes," 
and  asked  his  daughter  to  execute  for  me  a  coloured 
drawing  of  it,  from  which  I  learned  that  it  was  the 
Ligustrum  Obovatum.  The  only  species  of  Ligustrum 
I  had  met  with  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ningpo  or 
Shanghai  was  the  Ligustrum  Lucidum.  My  account 
has  been  called  in  question  by  some  amateur  botanists 
in  Shanghai,  because  a  commission  sent  by  the  British 
authorities  to  Yunnan,  (in  reference  to  the  murder  of 
Mr.  Margery,)  found  the  wax  deposited  upon  a 
species  of  Ligustrum. 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE  199 

Unfortunately  my  learned  friend,  Mr.  A.  Wylie,  to 
whom  I  sent  the  paper  and  drawing  of  the  Ligustrum 
Obovatum  for  the  North  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society  in  Shanghai,  was  ill  at  the  time,  and 
the  paper  and  drawing  were  lost. 

(6)   COIvLKCTlONS 

I  could  not  often  spare  time  for  special  botanical 
or  other  scientific  excursions  to  obtain  specimens,  and 
collectors  in  those  days  were  few.  When  the  French 
Minister,  Mr.  Lagrene,  came  with  a  corps  of  savants 
to  Ningpo  in  1844  I  made  a  collection  of  the  mulusses 
of  Ningpo  for  M.  Yvan,  the  surgeon  of  the  Embassy, 
who  visited  me  frequently  in  the  temple,  and  on  bid- 
ding me  good-bye  gave  me  a  new  and  interesting  work 
in  French  on  ophthalmic  surgery.  When  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loomis,  of  our  Mission,  went  home  in  1849,  I  sent  a 
collection  of  Chinese  skulls  to  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Science,  Philadelphia,  and  an  entomological  collection 
containing  more  than  three  hundred  different  species 
of  coleoptera,  lepidoptera,  and  also  geological  speci- 
mens, etc.  I  afterwards  sent  a  collection  of  ophidians, 
one  of  which  proved  to  be  a  new  species  of  trigono- 
cephalus,  or  viper,  which  was  considered  by  the  Chi- 
nese to  be  very  deadly,  and  was  described  by  Prof.  E. 
D.  Cope  in  the  journal  of  the  Academy.  I  afterwards 
discovered  a  species  of  Saturnia  at  Ningpo,  and  wrote 
a  paper  on  "  Some  Wild  Silk-worms  in  China,"  includ- 
ing those  which  feed  upon  the  Xanthoxylon  Peperi- 
tum,  and  Quercus  Cuspidata;  which  paper  may  be 
found  in  the  Transactions  of  the  North  China  Branch 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  at  Shanghai  for  1866. 


Ill 

THE  MAN  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN 
SAW  HIM 

By 

WOH  CONG-ENG 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Bao  ko-tah, 
Ningpo,  China. 


Ill 

THE  MAN  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN 
SAW  HIM 

DR.  McCARTEE  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Penna.,  on  the  13th  of  Jan.,  1820,  being  the 
oldest  of  the  five  sons  of  Robert  McCartee. 
His  college  course  was  taken  at  Columbia  College, 
New  York,  and  his  medical  course  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  carried  off  the  highest  hon- 
ours of  his  class.  In  June,  184,3,  when  the  treaties 
made  with  China  by  the  English  had  opened  five  ports 
to  trade  and  the  Gospel,  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Missions  in  New  York  \yished  him  to  go  to  China  as 
a  missionary.  He  saw  in  this  call  a  revelation  of  the 
divine  plan  for  him,  and  dared  not  hesitate  to  endure 
privation  and  suffering  for  Him,  who  left  the  glory  of 
Heaven  and  became  a  man  of  sorrows,  even  giving 
up  His  life  for  man's  redemption.  He  accordingly 
signified  to  Dr.  Lowrie  his  willingness  to  go,  and  set 
sail  from  New  York  in  October  of  the  same  year. 

Behold  what  love  for  his  Saviour  and  his  fellow- 
men  in  China  must  have  filled  the  breast  of  this  young 
man  of  twenty-three  to  enable  him  to  brave  the  dang- 
ers of  the  deep  and  go  along  to  that  f  ar-of  land  to  give 
them  the  Gospel !  It  was  February  19th,  1844,  when  he 
reached  Hong  Kong,  and  tarried  there  and  at  Macao  a 
few  weeks  for  a  favorable  opportunity  of  proceeding 

203 


204  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM 

north.  A  little  later  he  made  his  way  to  Chusan 
Island,  which  was  held  by  the  English  as  a  naval 
station ;  and,  securing  the  services  of  a  Chinese  drug- 
gist to  act  as  teacher,  began  the  study  of  the  language. 
He  made  most  remarkable  progress,  and  in  an  almost 
incredibly  short  time  was  able  to  talk  to  the  people  and 
treat  their  diseases.  In  June  of  this  same  year  he 
made  a  trip  up  the  river  to  Ningpo,  arriving  on  the 
21st,  and  was  hospitably  received  by  the  British  Con- 
sul, who  did  what  he  could  to  make  him  comfortable. 
But  the  malarial  climate  proved  at  first  too  much  for 
him ;  and  he  had  to  return  to  Chusan  to  recuperate 
and  wait  for  cooler  weather.  It  was  in  November 
that  he  again  returned  to  Ningpo,  and  this  time  suc- 
ceeded in  renting  a  hovel  on  the  north  shore  of  the 
river,  just  opposite  the  city,  and  laid  the  foundations 
for  the  Presbyterian  Mission  in  this  part  of  China. 

Dr.  McCartee  was  the  first  missionary  to  reach 
Ningpo  with  a  view  to  remaining ;  except  a  member  of 
the  American  Baptist  Mission,  who  had  arrived  a  few 
months  earlier,  but  whose  residence  in  the  place  was 
much  interrupted,  and  was  brief.  Dr.  McCartee  af- 
terwards secured  rooms  in  the  Yiu-sing-kwan,  a 
Taoist  temple  inside  the  city  near  the  north  gate, 
where  he  remained  some  months,  and  carried  on  his 
medical  and  evangelistic  work.  But  these  were  troub- 
lous times.  Hostilities  had  barely  ceased,  and  the 
Chinese  looked  upon  all  foreigners  as  enemies  and 
lost  no  opportunity  to  persecute  them.  He  was  truly 
as  a  lamb  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  The  officials  de- 
manded that  he  be  expelled  from  the  temple,  and  sent 
out  of  the  city ;  but  fortunately  his  meekness  and  gen- 


AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM  205 

tleness  won  the  day ;  and  when  he  pointed  out  that  he 
had  in  no  way  violated  the  treaties,  or  done  anyone  an 
injury,  they  took  pity  on  his  loneHness  and  let  him 
stay.  Eventually  these  same  officials  were  won  over 
to  be  his  warm  friends  and  often  asked  his  assistance 
when  difficulties  with  a  foreign  power  arose. 

Dr.  McCartee  was  manifestly  a  tool  of  God's  own 
choosing  for  laying  the  foundation  of  this  work  in 
Ningpo;  for  nothing  but  his  loving,  peaceful,  gentle 
disposition  could  have  overcome  such  opposition  as 
he  had  to  meet. 

His  friendly  relations  with  some  of  the  literati  en- 
abled him  to  purchase  land  on  the  north  bank,  and 
secure  an  old  ancestral  hall,  and  so  have  habitations 
ready  for  Rev.  Messrs.  Way,  Culbertson,  Lowrie,  and 
Coulter,  who  were  sent  to  Ningpo  in  1845.  In  the 
same  year  Miss  Aldersey,  an  English  lady,  became 
affiliated  with  these  workers,  and  did  much  to  develop 
educational  work,  especially  for  girls. 

Dr.  McCartee  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Boys'  School ;  and  when,  in  1868, 
Mr.  Green  wished  to  move  the  school,  church,  and  all 
to  Hangchow,  it  was  Dr.  McCartee's  opposition  that 
hindered  this  scheme,  and  so  saved  to  the  people  of 
Ningpo  the  Fu-zin  church  and  the  school  building;  a 
service  which  they  will  never  forget,  who  have  shared 
the  benefits  thus  secured. 

When  the  first  Presbyterian  church  was  organized 
in  Ningpo  in  1847  Dr.  McCartee  was  one  of  the 
elders.  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  Rev.  Walter  Low- 
rie, as  he  was  returning  from  Shanghai  in  a  Chinese 
junk,  fell  into  the  hands  of  pirates,  and  was  drowned. 


206  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM 

Dr.  McCartee  took  up  the  case,  pushing  it  with  such 
energy  and  perseverance  that  the  officials,  very  in- 
different at  first,  finally  took  up  the  matter  earnestly, 
and  captured  seven  of  the  pirates,  who  were  sum- 
marily executed.  So  salutary  was  this  example  that 
no  foreigner  in  this  region  has  been  molested  since 
that  time  by  pirates ;  except  on  one  occasion  in  1855, 
when  no  harm  followed. 

During  the  two  weary  months  that  this  matter 
dragged  on  Dr.  McCartee  laboured  so  incessantly  and 
with  a  heart  so  burdened  that  he  grew  haggard  and 
pale  as  though  he  had  been  ill. 

Through  his  efforts  a  memorial  stone  was  placed  in 
the  Ningpo  Cemetery  in  honour  of  Mr.  Lowrie,  which 
is  there  still. 

Not  only  was  Dr.  McCartee  a  leading  man  in  his 
own  mission,  but  he  was  on  such  terms  with  all  the 
members  of  the  other  two  missions  working  in 
Ningpo,  The  American  Baptist  and  The  English 
Church  missions,  that  he  was  largely  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  that  condition  of  harmony  and  good 
fellowship  which  made  the  three  missions  practically 
one.  So  highly  was  he  esteemed  by  the  men  of  other 
missions  that  when  he  left  Ningpo,  in  1872,  some  of 
them  shed  tears  as  they  bade  him  good-bye;  saying, 
"  The  Presbyterian  Mission  is  losing  a  glorious  light. 
This  man  was  truly  a  blessing  to  his  church  and  to 
us  all." 

Dr.  McCartee*s  literary  work  was  considerable,  em- 
bracing a  number  of  books ;  "  Verses  for  Beginners," 
two  volumes ;  "  The  Bible  Topically  Divided,"  and  a 
"  Harmony  of   the   Gospels " ;  also  several  smaller 


AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM  207 

tracts,  such  as  "  The  Three  Character  Classic,"  "  Four 
Character  Classic,"  "  Six  Warnings  Against  Opium," 
"  The  Truth  Easily  Known,"  "  The  Important  Teach- 
ing of  Jesus,"  "  The  Three  Bonds  of  Belief,"  "  Laws 
of  the  Protestant  Church."  Dr.  McCartee  also  as- 
sisted in  putting  the  Ningpo  system  of  Roman  script 
into  the  final  form  which  has  made  it  such  a  help  to 
the  church  in  this  whole  district. 

Dr.  McCartee  was  a  physician  of  unusual  skill.  He 
had  made  a  reputation  for  scholarship  before  leaving 
America ;  and  upon  his  arrival  in  China  he  acquainted 
himself  with  the  native  treatises  on  medicine.  Hence 
the  people,  officials  and  wealthy  classes,  as  well  as  the 
common  people,  had  a  wonderful  confidence  in  his 
skill,  which  was  only  increased  by  the  success  of  his 
treatment.  His  reputation  spread  throughout  the 
whole  Ningpo  region;  and  whenever  he  went  on  his 
itinerations  among  the  neighbouring  villages  the 
people  received  him  gladly.  They  not  only  enter- 
tained him,  but  willingly  rented  buildings  for  the 
opening  of  chapels.  And  converts  not  a  few  were  the 
direct  result  of  his  medical  and  evangelistic  work. 
Some  who  afterwards  became  useful  preachers  and 
teachers  were  reached  in  this  way. 

After  the  murder  of  Mr.  Lowrie  the  American 
Government  wished  Dr.  McCartee  to  act  as  consul  for 
Ningpo.  He  long  declined,  saying  he  had  no  time  for 
any  but  his  religious  duties ;  but  finally  consented  to 
take  the  office  temporarily.  All  his  dealings  with  the 
officials  were  most  friendly ;  and  he  never  lost  an  op- 
portunity to  explain  the  Gospel  to  them  in  his  inter- 
views.   It  was  probably  in  a  good  measure  due  to  this 


208  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM 

perfect  understanding  that  the  officials  of  Ningpo 
have  always  been  willing  to  protect  the  Christians  in 
their  jurisdiction. 

When  the  new  treaty  of  1858  opened  other  ports, 
Dr.  McCartee  felt  that  God  was  opening  doors  for  the 
Gospel  which  ought  to  be  entered  at  once.  Accord- 
ingly, with  a  native  helper,  Zia  Ying-tong,  he  moved 
to  Chefoo,  in  July,  1862,  and  there  remained  three 
years,  being  afterwards  joined  by  Dr.  Nevius  and 
others.  Thus  he  was  the  first  to  open  up  this  great 
work,  as  well  as  that  at  Ningpo.  He  returned  to 
Ningpo  from  the  North  in  September,  1865,  some 
time  after  the  expulsion  of  the  T'ai-ping  rebels  from 
this  place ;  and,  after  a  furlough  in  the  United  States 
during  1869-70,  he  was,  by  December,  1870,  here 
again.  Dr.  McCartee  one  day  met  a  man  who  had 
heard  the  Gospel  from  Dr.  Nevius  in  Hangchow, 
where  he  had  been  in  business  until  the  rebellion 
drove  him  to  his  home  near  Ningpo.  Dr.  McCartee 
took  this  man  to  his  home,  and  treated  him  most  cor- 
dially, instructing  him  more  fully  in  the  Gospel.  This 
opened  the  way  for  work  in  a  village  seven  miles  from 
Ningpo  out  of  which  has  grown  the  Kao-gyiao 
church,  which  now  has  sixty  members  and  a  large 
new  building,  erected  almost  entirely  by  the  members 
themselves. 

When  Rev.  William  Morrison  gave  up  the  church 
in  Bao  ko-tah  in  1865,  being  compelled  to  return  to 
America  on  account  of  failing  health,  the  members 
desired  Dr.  McCartee  to  take  charge  of  their  church ; 
which  he  accordingly  did  as  their  elder,  walking  the 
seven  miles  from  Ningpo  every  Sabbath  morning  and 


AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM  209 

evening,  and  thus  bearing  a  strong  testimony  to  the 
sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  day.  He  would  not  have  an- 
other labour  on  that  day  merely  to  give  him  comfort. 
I  need  not  speak  of  his  diligence  and  willingness  to 
endure  hardship;  since  everybody  saw  it  for  them- 
selves. He  was  carrying  on  simultaneously  four  lines 
of  work,  either  of  which  might  have  consumed  all  of 
one  man's  time — looking  after  a  church,  the  consular 
office,  literary  work,  medical  work;  besides  all  this 
there  were  many  consultations  with  other  workers 
both  of  his  own  and  other  missions.  From  morning 
till  night  there  was  not  an  idle  moment.  Even  while 
he  was  at  his  meals  he  would  be  reading  books  and 
magazines.  Because  of  this  overwork  and  too  much 
exposure  to  the  sun,  he  was  subject  to  spells  of  dizzi- 
ness. In  addition  to  all  the  above,  were  weekly  trips 
to  Chin-hae  and  Z-kyi,  from  which  he  often  returned 
entirely  exhausted ;  just  as  Paul  says  of  himself  in  2 
Cor.  xi:27.  Dr.  McCartee  had  regular  days  and 
hours  for  dispensing  medicine;  but  no  one  was  ever 
sent  away  empty,  no  matter  at  what  hour  he  came; 
nor  did  he  ever  refuse  to  answer  a  call,  regardless  of 
the  distance  or  difficulties  of  the  journey. 

Sometimes  he  would  receive  the  sick  into  his  own 
home,  attending  them  in  person,  even  sitting  up  with 
them  through  the  night ;  nor  did  he  make  a  difference 
in  his  treatment  of  Christians  and  outsiders,  but 
showed  the  same  consideration  for  all.  He  never 
went  out,  but  people  along  the  way  asked  for  medi- 
cine ;  and  he  always  supplied  them  from  his  case. 

His  unfailing  love  was  a  great  stimulus  to  all  those 
with  whom  he  came  into  contact.    One  of  the  promi- 


210  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM 

nent  traits  in  Dr.  McCartee's  character  was  his  sym- 
pathy, especially  toward  fatherless  children.  In  1866 
Mrs.  Kying,  wife  of  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Yu- 
yiao  died  of  cholera,  followed  in  a  few  days  by  her 
husband.  Dr.  McCartee  took  their  little  children,  a 
boy  of  seven  and  a  girl  of  two,  and  brought  them  up 
as  his  own  children.  In  the  eleventh  month  of  the 
same  year  the  wife  of  one  of  the  helpers  suddenly 
died,  leaving  an  infant  son.  Dr.  McCartee  happened 
to  be  present  at  the  time,  and  wept  with  the  sorrowing 
husband.  Having  wrapped  the  little  one  in  one  of  his 
own  garments  he  took  it  to  a  foster  mother,  who  nour- 
ished and  cared  for  it.  In  the  churches  at  Ningpo, 
Kao-gyiao  and  Bao  ko-tah  there  were  fatherless  chil- 
dren brought  to  him  almost  every  month;  and  he 
would  find  a  place  for  them,  paying  for  their  keep 
from  his  own  purse.  This  he  did  for  many  years, 
just  as  the  Scripture  says  in  Isa.  Iviii  \7 . 

He  had  many  boys  in  school  who  were  orphans  of 
Christians.  Indeed  those  who  shared  his  bounty  were 
well  nigh  numberless.  While  at  home  on  furlough 
between  1869-1870,  he  raised  funds  to  establish  a  hos- 
pital and  an  orphan  asyltmi  in  Ningpo;  but  on  his 
return  to  the  field  some  dissension  in  the  station 
hindered  his  purpose,  and  we  in  Ningpo  were  de- 
prived of  the  blessing  he  had  planned  for  us. 

Dr.  McCartee's  home  was  always  open  to  guests, 
and  they  accepted  his  hospitality  in  large  numbers. 
His  friendly  ways,  both  with  foreigners  and  Chinese, 
drew  them  to  him  like  a  magnet.  Nor  did  his  wel- 
come fade  with  the  passing  days. 

In  his  treatment  of  his  servants,  too,  his  consider- 


AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM  211 

ation  was  most  marked;  and  they  served  with  great 
faithfulness,  unwilling  to  leave  one  who  was  more 
like  a  father  than  a  master.  Several  of  his  servants 
became  Christians,  and  all  wept  with  genuine  sorrow 
when  he  left  Ningpo.  I  have  already  told  of  his  care 
for  the  children  of  deceased  Christians;  nor  was  his 
care  for  the  dead  less  notable.  When  about  to  leave 
Ningpo  in  1869,  he  had  stones  put  at  the  graves  of  all 
deceased  Christians,  saying,  "  Now  have  I  done  my 
duty  by  the  dead."  Thus  all  his  actions  manifested 
love.  When  the  end  of  Hfe  closed  his  labours,  his 
parting  message  was :  "  Give  my  love  to  all."  This 
was  all  the  legacy  he  left.  His  money  had  been  used 
to  do  good  during  his  lifetime,  so  that  he  had  little 
laid  by  on  earth ;  but  he  is  now  enjoying  the  treasure 
laid  up  in  Heaven  as  promised  in  Matt,  xxv  :40. 

When  Dr.  McCartee  returned  to  Ningpo  in  Decem- 
ber, 1870,  it  was  with  the  purpose  of  spending  the  rest 
of  his  days  there;  and  he  immediately  set  about  ar- 
ranging for  the  hospital  and  asylum  for  which  the 
funds  had  been  raised,  and  the  furnishings,  medicines, 
etc.,  brought  with  him. 

Difficulties  arose  in  the  station,  and  opposition  to 
his  plan  developed  to  such  a  strength  that,  with  much 
sorrow  of  heart,  he  gave  up  his  cherished  plan,  re- 
turned the  money  to  the  donors,  and  decided  to  leave 
Ningpo,  which  he  did  in  January,  1872.  A  great 
crowd  of  foreigners  and  Chinese  accompanied  him  to 
the  steamer,  many  of  them  in  tears.  In  his  parting 
message  to  them  the  Doctor  said,  as  the  tears  streamed 
down  his  face :  "  It  was  not  my  wish  to  leave  you ;  but 
now  I  feel  it  is  better  for  me  to  go  than  to  quarrel 


212  AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM 

with  my  colleagues.  Only  my  body  goes,  my  heart 
remains  with  you.  Stand  firm  in  the  Lord;  my  God 
and  your  God,  my  Father  and  your  Father;  and  in 
the  future  we  shall  meet  again  in  the  Saviour's  king- 
dom. This  is  my  parting  wish  for  you.  May  the 
Lord  abide  with  you." 

When  he  arrived  in  Shanghai  the  Consul  General 
for  the  U.  S.  A.  asked  him  to  take  the  place  of  one  of 
the  consuls,  who  was  on  sick  leave ;  and  this  position 
he  occupied  for  six  months.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  accepted  a  chair  in  the  Imperial  University  of 
Japan,  and  prepared  at  once  for  his  new  work. 

Just  as  he  was  setting  out  for  the  journey  there 
came  a  commission  from  the  Chinese  government  em- 
powering him  to  act  as  special  envoy  to  Japan,  to 
secure  the  release  of  certain  coolies  who  had  been 
kidnapped.  He  set  out  on  this  double  mission  in  Sej>- 
tember,  1872.  Having  discharged  his  obligations  to 
the  Chinese  government  he  proceeded  to  Tokyo,  and 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  instructor  in  Natural 
Science,  etc.,  in  the  University.  His  wisdom  and 
learning  were  much  praised  by  all  who  knew  him,  or 
studied  in  his  classes.  But  as  the  story  of  his  twenty- 
eight  year's  work  for  Japan  has  been  written  in  full  I 
need  not  repeat  it  here.  The  year  after  he  left 
Ningpo,  there  came  a  letter  from  the  Mission  Board 
pointing  out  the  station's  mistake  in  its  treatment  of 
Dr.  McCartee;  and  urging  that  the  members  of  the 
station  write  to  him,  confessing  the  wrong  done  him, 
and  asking  him  to  return  to  Ningpo.  This  was  done ; 
but  as  a  field  of  usefulness  had  already  opened  for 
him  in  Japan  he  decided  to  remain  there.    Yet,  true  to 


AS  AN  ORIENTAL  CHRISTIAN  SAW  HIM  213 

his  parting  word,  his  heart  remained  over  in  Ningpo. 
He  always  delighted  to  meet  any  one  from  there,  and 
missed  no  opportunity  to  send  back  greetings  to  his 
host  of  friends.  Moreover,  he  continued  through  his 
life  to  send  money  for  the  aid  of  Bao  ko-tah ;  helping 
the  people  with  their  new  building,  and  making  an  an- 
nual subscription  to  the  pastor's  salary,  besides  help- 
ing in  the  support  of  several  poor  dependents  under 
the  church's  care.  His  love  never  failed  while  life 
lasted. 

In  the  year  1900  he  returned  to  his  native  land,  on 
account  of  failing  health,  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
San  Francisco,  Cal.  There,  on  the  17th  of  July,  his 
earthly  labours  ended  at  the  ripe  age  of  nearly  eighty- 
one.  At  his  death,  as  in  his  life,  his  one  thought  was 
love.  "  Divide  my  love  among  all,"  was  a  true  ex- 
pression of  the  whole  motive  of  his  life.  His  love 
flowed  out  as  the  ceaseless  flow  of  a  river.  Who  has 
not  shared  in  it  ?  As  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  so  this 
true  servant,  became  poor  that  others  might  be  made 
rich.  His  only  store  was  that  laid  up  in  Heaven. 
Though  Dr.  McCartee  is  dead,  he  yet  lives.  There 
are  four  ways  in  which  he  lives.  (1)  The  books 
which  he  wrote  are  still  being  read,  and  in  them  he 
still  speaks  to  men.  (2)  Those  who  were  helped  by 
him  are  still  here  to  proclaim  his  praises.  (3)  Those 
who  were  his  pupils  are  still  here,  living  out  his  in- 
structions; his  life  is  reproduced  in  them.  (4)  His 
example  is  fixed  indelibly  in  the  hearts  of  all  who 
knew  him,  and  stirs  them  with  a  desire  to  be  such  as 
he  was.  Is  it  not  eminently  true  of  Dr.  McCartee  as 
the  Scripture  says :  "  He  being  dead  yet  speaketh  "  ? 


IV 

THE  MAN  AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER 
KNEW  HIM 

By 

David  Murray,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Foreign  Adviser  to  the  Japanese  Minister  of 
Education. 


IV 

THE  MAN  AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW 
HIM 

THE  career  of  Dr.  McCartee  illustrates  in  a  con- 
spicuous manner  the  many  uses  to  which  a 
missionary  may  be  put.  He  died  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  his  eighty-first  year,  July  17,  1900,  after 
fifty-six  years  spent  in  fruitful  effort  to  Christianize 
the  life  of  the  Far  East.  Few  men  have  had  so  varied 
an  experience,  or  can  count  up  so  many  useful  and 
satisfactory  results,  as  could  this  veteran  scientist, 
professor,  diplomatist  and  missionary.  It  was  my 
fortune  to  know  him  intimately  at  one  of  the  most 
interesting  periods  of  his  life,  when  for  several  years 
we  were  neighbours,  and  daily  brought  into  close 
relations. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1873,  at  the  request  of  the 
Embassy  from  Japan,  which  had  then  visited  the 
United  States,  I  went  as  Adviser  to  the  Imperial  Min- 
ister of  Education,  and  spent  six  years  in  the  employ 
of  the  Japanese  government.  When  I  first  arrived  in 
Japan  I  found  Dr.  McCartee  already  engaged  in  the 
Kaisei-Gakko,  as  it  was  then  called,  or  Foreign 
Language  School,  which  afterward  became  the  Im- 
perial University  of  Tokyo.  He  had  been  sent  by  the 
Viceroy  of  Nanking,  together  with  the  Chinese  Judge 
of  the  Mixed  Court  at  Shanghai,  to  confer  with  the 

217 


218    AS  A  FELLOW- WORKER  KNEW  HIM 

Japanese  authorities  in  reference  to  the  case  of  the 
Maria  Lus,  a  vessel  carrying  Chinese  coolies  to  Peru. 
This  vessel,  with  its  load  of  232  unwilling  emigrants, 
had  been  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  the  port  of 
Yokohama.  There  two  of  the  coolies  made  their  es- 
cape, and  were  recaptured  on  land.  The  Japanese 
government  interfered  to  prevent  their  restoration, 
and  restrained  the  vessel  from  deporting  its  living 
freight.  At  the  instance  of  Dr.  McCartee  the  Viceroy 
of  Nanking,  to  whose  native  province  of  Canton  the 
coolies  belonged,  was  informed  of  their  retention  at 
Yokohama;  and  was  urged  to  relieve  the  Japanese 
government  of  their  charge,  that  they  might  be  re- 
stored to  their  homes.  The  Viceroy  immediately  sent 
the  Commissioners  named;  and  their  representations 
were  so  effective  that,  much  to  the  gratification  of 
their  own  government,  the  coolies  were  restored  to 
China.  This  not  only  ended  an  infamous  traffic  which 
for  some  years  had  been  going  on  with  little  check, 
but  made  the  beginning  of  modern  diplomatic  rela- 
tions between  the  two  great  neighbouring  empires  that 
for  centuries  had  continued  in  their  proud  isolation 
from  each  other  no  less  than  from  the  western  world. 

It  was  during  his  presence  in  Japan  on  this  diplo- 
matic business  in  1872  that  Dr.  McCartee,  at  the  so- 
licitation of  Dr.  Verbeck,  then  in  the  employ  of  the 
Japanese  government,  accepted  a  position  in  the 
Kaisei-Gakko  as  professor  of  Natural  History  and 
of  Law. 

The  Natural  History  included  the  departments  of 
Comparative  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Zoology  and  Bot- 
any.   His  instruction  in  Law  was  chiefly  confined  to 


AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW  HIM    219 

International  Law,  with  which  a  large  consular  and 
judicial  experience  in  China  had  made  him  familiar. 
At  this  time  he  had  completed  twenty-eight  years  of 
extremely  varied  service  as  a  medical  missionary  in 
China;  and  he  was  destined  to  another  twenty-eight 
years  of  service  largely  devoted  to  Japan.  In  his 
nearly  equal  acquaintance  with  these  two  countries 
for  so  protracted  a  term  of  years,  his  experience 
stands  probably  alone.  During  his  residence  in 
China,  and  amid  the  engrossing  cares  of  a  pioneer 
missionary's  life,  his  early  studies  in  the  natural 
sciences  were  never  wholly  intermitted;  and  to  an 
unusual  degree  he  was  qualified  to  teach  them  in  the 
first  years  of  the  new  university.  His  knowledge  of 
Chinese  essentially  aided  him  in  guiding  Japanese 
students. 

The  Japanese  schools  had  not  then  made  the  prog- 
ress in  modern  education  which  they  have  since  so 
notably  achieved.  For  a  time  neither  books  nor  teach- 
ers using  the  native  language  could  be  had.  Three 
foreign  languages  were  employed  in  the  instruction 
daily  given,  with  some  one  of  which  every  student 
must  have  some  acquaintance.  German  was  used  by 
the  faculty  of  Medicine;  French  in  the  Army  School, 
and  in  the  department  of  Law ;  English  in  the  school 
for  Naval  Affairs,  and  in  the  departments  of  general 
science  and  engineering. 

In  all  these  lines  of  study  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
for  the  student  was  to  make  him  reasonably  familiar 
with  the  foreign  language  in  which  his  studies  were 
carried  on,  and  with  technical  terms.  The  boys  were 
eager  and  quick,  and  Dr.  McCartee  was  a  skilful 


220    AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW  HIM 

linguist.  The  Japanese  printed  and  written  language 
makes  a  considerable  use  of  the  Chinese  characters, 
which  serve  in  both  languages  to  represent  the  same 
ideas,  although  their  pronunciation  is  entirely  differ- 
ent. The  Japanese  nomenclature  of  science  is  funda- 
mentally Chinese;  although  many  words,  expressing 
ideas  unknown  to  the  Chinese,  have  been  imported 
directly  from  western  languages.  Understanding  the 
ideographic  characters  common  to  the  two  languages 
Dr.  McCartee  was  able  to  use  them  to  communicate 
the  facts  of  science.  He  would  write  these  characters 
on  paper  and  the  blackboard;  and  I  have  seen  him 
make  them  with  his  finger  in  the  air,  or  on  the  palm 
of  his  hand.  He  was,  moreover,  a  natural  linguist, 
and  with  great  rapidity  acquired  the  use  of  the 
Japanese. 

With  these  unusual  equipments  he  was  soon  recog- 
nized as  an  efficient  instructor  in  the  several  depart- 
ments he  had  undertaken.  One  of  his  duties  was  to 
lecture  upon  Japanese  botany :  and  it  was  a  great  de- 
light to  him  to  encourage  his  pupils  to  make  and  label 
and  arrange  collections  of  the  native  plants.  At  first 
he  could  only  proceed  in  an  elementary  way,  but  he  so 
threw  himself  into  the  work  that  his  students  soon 
became  enthusiastic. 

There  had  long  been  a  botanical  garden  established 
in  the  city  of  Tokio  in  the  temple  grounds  of  the 
Go-koku-ji  at  Koishikawa.  It  seems  to  have  been 
begun  by  the  Shogun  Tsunayoshi  in  1681,  who  caused 
to  be  set  out  there  a  variety  of  foreign  and  medicinal 
plants.  Probably  suggestions  for  the  management  of 
this  garden  were  made  from  time  to  time  by  the  emi- 


AS  A  FELLOW- WORKER  KNEW  HIM    221 

nent  and  skilful  botanists  of  the  Dutch  colony  at 
Nagasaki :  of  whom  the  most  notable  were  Krempfer, 
from  1690  and  after,  Thunberg  in  1775,  Titsingh  in 
1779,  and  Von  Siebold  in  1823.  The  Japanese  them- 
selves were  skilled  in  much  that  pertained  to  plants. 
Our  own  people  know  enough  of  Japanese  plants,  and 
the  skill  employed  in  their  propagation,  to  see  with 
what  sedulous  care  the  Japanese  would  provide  for 
such  a  garden.  The  Dutch  learned  from  them  many 
things  concerning  the  growth  and  cultivation  of 
plants ;  and  introduced  into  Europe  from  Japan  many 
varieties  before  unknown.  In  turn  the  Japanese  were 
eager  to  learn  from  the  Dutch,  and  especially  concern- 
ing the  use  and  properties  of  medicinal  plants. 

This  botanical  garden,  when  Dr.  McCartee  came  to 
Tokyo,  was  in  charge  of  the  Educational  Department, 
and  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  Ito  Keis'ke,  a  native 
botanist  of  the  highest  reputation,  who  had  been  as- 
sociated with  many  foreign  scholars.  So  much  confi- 
dence did  the  Government  place  in  Dr.  McCartee  that 
it  associated  with  him  Dr.  Ito  in  the  superintendence 
of  this  garden.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  five  years' 
connection  with  it  the  Senior  Vice  Minister  of  Educa- 
tion wrote  a  highly  appreciative  tribute  to  his  service. 

When  Dr.  McCartee  first  entered  the  Kaisei-Gakko 
it  was  one  of  his  functions  to  give  instruction  in  Law, 
especially  in  international  Law.  By  1875  a  separate 
professorship  of  Law  was  established,  and  he  then 
took  a  class  in  Political  Economy.  He  also  for  a 
while  taught  Latin.  Yet  for  all  this  range  of  instruc- 
tion there  was  not  a  subject  that  he  handled  In  which 
he  failed  to  secure  the  enthusiastic  interest  of  his 


222    AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW  HIM 

pupils.  In  after  years  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him 
to  meet  with  some,  distinguished  native  lawyers  who 
had  received  from  him  the  first  courses  of  their  pro- 
fession, and  who  were  gratefully  willing  to  attribute 
to  him  much  of  their  success  in  Hfe. 

It  was  Dr.  McCartee's  fortune  to  be  instrumental  in 
the  initiation  of  modern  international  relations  be- 
tween China  and  Japan,  not  only  as  described  in  the 
case  of  the  Maria  Luz,  but  also  in  the  establishment  in 
Japan  of  the  first  Chinese  Legation  of  modern  times. 
While  he  was  still  a  medical  missionary  at  Ningpo 
Mr.  Chang  Luseng,  a  native  scholar  and  merchant  of 
that  city,  was  long  his  private  student  in  western 
science,  and  corresponded  with  him  after  Dr.  McCar- 
tee  had  become  connected  with  the  Kaisei-Gakko  in 
Japan.  The  importance  of  having  a  Chinese  legation 
at  Tokyo  to  deal  with  the  many  matters  now  arising 
was  strongly  impressed  on  Dr.  McCartee's  mind ;  and 
he  first  urged  upon  Mr.  Chang,  then  an  officer  in  the 
imperial  service,  the  need  of  bringing  this  subject  to 
the  attention  of  his  own  Government.  This  Mr. 
Chang  effectively  accomplished,  and  an  Embassy  was 
appointed  of  which  he  was  made  the  junior  envoy. 
Dr.  McCartee  was  then  asked  to  become  its  Foreign 
Adviser,  with  the  rank  of  Secretary;  and  in  this  ca- 
pacity he  accompanied  the  Embassy  from  Shanghai  to 
Tokyo  in  the  fall  of  1877,  with  an  engagement  for 
three  years.  He  had  every  qualification  for  such  a 
post.  He  knew  the  languages,  both  spoken  and  writ- 
ten, of  both  countries.  He  had  witnessed  the  new 
development  of  Japan,  and  was  familiar  with  the 
supercilious  views  hitherto  entertained  by  the  older 


AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW  HIM    223 

nation  in  regard  to  the  movements  of  her  ambitious 
neighbour.  He  was  acquainted  with  all  the  questions 
which  had  arisen  or  were  likely  to  arise  between  them. 
He  possessed  a  long  experience  of  personal  dealing 
with  high  officials  of  both  lands;  and  he  had  invari- 
ably won,  and  never  lost,  the  exceptional  confidence 
of  these  officers.  He  understood  international  usages, 
and  forms  of  procedure.  Notwithstanding  the  natural 
antipathy  of  the  two  countries,  and  the  somewhat 
strained  relations  then  occasioned  by  a  mutual  conflict 
of  claims  to  the  sovereignity  of  the  Loo-Choo  Islands, 
these  relations  continued  amicable  during  all  of  Dr. 
McCartee's  connection  with  the  Legation ;  and  it  is  not 
saying  too  much  to  attribute  the  fact  to  his  wise  and 
tactful  influence.  The  position  was  one  requiring  ex- 
traordinar}'-  tact.  That  his  services  were  duly  valued 
is  plain  from  the  cordial  friendship  that  marked  all  his 
intercourse  with  the  ministers,  from  the  tributes 
penned  by  them  at  his  voluntary  termination  of  the 
engagement,  and  from  the  honour  done  him  by  the 
government  at  Peking  in  bestowing  upon  him  the 
permanent  rank  of  Honorary  Consul  General. 

Dr.  McCartee's  versatility  was  a  marked  character- 
istic of  the  man.  Yet  he  was  not  more  versatile  than 
efficient.  Few  men  have  ever  been  able  to  show  an 
equal  variety  in  work  that  was  highly  successful.  He 
was  a  linguist  in  the  best  sense.  He  was  a  scientist 
of  no  mean  attainment.  He  was  a  teacher  of  science 
who  impressed  his  subject  upon  his  students  with 
consummate  force.  He  was  an  expert  in  international 
law,  and  practically  exemplified  his  knowledge  by 
numerous  and  varied  services  in  two  countries.    He 


224    AS  A  FELLOW-WORKER  KNEW  HIM 

turned  from  one  occupation  to  the  other  with  marvel- 
lous facility.  With  his  Huguenot  blood  he  had  in- 
herited the  vivacity  of  his  nature.  Even  when  an  old 
man  he  stepped  about  with  the  elasticity  of  youth. 
His  mental  operations  were  as  quick  and  incisive  as 
his  bodily  movements.  He  turned  without  hesitation 
and  embarrassment  from  the  intricacies  of  interna- 
tional law,  to  the  physiology  of  a  plant.  He  dis- 
cussed at  one  moment  the  puzzles  of  the  Chinese 
language,  and  at  another  was  busy  with  the  care  of  a 
sick  patient.  Yet  he  made  all  these  powers  subservient 
to  the  one  great  object  of  his  life. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  in  estimating  Dr.  Mc- 
Cartee's  character  that  he  was  beyond  all  else  a  mis- 
sionary. As  circumstances  required  he  had  been 
physician,  naturalist,  linguist,  a  professor  and  a  dip- 
lomatist. But  all  of  his  acquirements  he  was  ready 
to  devote  to  the  Master,  whose  representative  he  ever 
continued  to  be.  With  an  earnestness  peculiar  to  him 
he  was  ready  to  do  any  work  that  would  advance  the 
best  interests  of  the  peoples  among  whom  he  had  cast 
his  lot;  but  the  supreme  motive  of  his  life  was  to 
advance  the  interests  of  his  Redeemer's  Kingdom. 
His  last  years,  like  his  first  in  the  Far  East,  were 
given  to  more  directly  missionary  labour.  His  zeal 
for  the  Christianizing  of  the  Orient  was  never  dulled, 
nor  his  assurance  of  the  final  issue  ever  diminished. 


Printed  in  United  States  of  America. 


Date  Due 

i'               _,; 

s 

Hl5-iii 

Kb   -50 

JE  1 2  'Si 

or    L        ,r 

uo  5    "5 

*? 

'-           Li     , 

^ 

